If you let property in Cheltenham or Gloucester, you know what September brings: new tenancies starting, students arriving, and — a few weeks later — the first cold nights of the year. It’s the busiest time in the lettings calendar, and it’s exactly when plumbing problems choose to surface.
The difference between a smooth autumn and a stressful one is usually a couple of hours of checks in August. Here’s the list we work through for the landlords and agents we look after.
1. Find the stopcock — and make sure it turns
In an emergency, your tenant needs to stop the water fast. Check the stopcock turns freely, isn’t hidden behind a washing machine, and — this matters — that the tenant actually knows where it is. A seized stopcock is a cheap fix in August and a flooded kitchen in November.
2. Run every tap, flush every toilet
Void periods are hard on plumbing: washers dry out, traps evaporate, small weeps go unnoticed. Run everything, watch underneath each fitting for a minute, and listen for toilets that keep filling after the flush — a running toilet on a water meter quietly costs hundreds a year.
3. Look under the boiler and around the cylinder
You’re looking for pressure that keeps dropping (a classic sign of a small heating leak), corrosion stains, and any dampness around cylinder connections. Heating problems found now get fixed in days; the same call in the first cold week of October joins a county-wide queue.
4. Bleed the radiators and check for cold spots
Air in the system means gurgling pipes and lukewarm rooms — the number-one source of “heating doesn’t work” calls that turn out to be five minutes with a bleed key. Radiators cold at the bottom are a different story (sludge), and worth addressing properly before winter.
5. Insulate what winter can reach
Pipes in lofts, garages and outbuildings, and any outside taps: a few pounds of lagging versus a burst pipe claim is the easiest cost-benefit decision in property. If the outside tap has an isolation valve, show the tenant how to shut and drain it for winter.
6. Check the seals and silicone
Failed silicone around baths and showers lets water into floors slowly and invisibly — and it’s the source of a remarkable share of deposit disputes and downstairs-ceiling repairs. Resealing a bathroom is quick, cheap and makes the property show better at viewings too.
7. Photograph everything
Whatever condition the plumbing is in at check-in, record it. Clear photos protect both you and your tenant — and if you use a contractor like us, ask for photo reports with every job so your records build themselves.
Want it done for you?
We provide plumbing support for landlords and letting agents across Cheltenham and Gloucester — pre-tenancy checks, responsive repairs with direct tenant liaison, and honest photo-backed reporting. One number, agreed spend limits, no surprises at year end. Call 07386 705571 or get in touch online.