Your fittings, if installed professionally, will remain watertight for many years of use. If improperly installed however, you could potentially be looking at having to pay for thousands of dollars in repairs due to water damage caused by leaky taps and drains. This is made worse if your bathroom is located on an upper floor in a multi-storey dwelling, such as an apartment or townhouse, and it can be devastating for your downstairs neighbours. In the worst cases, long-neglected leaks can cause things like baths to collapse through ceilings into the apartment below. Regular maintenance is needed to ensure that the integrity of seals and joints are not compromised. Most of it can be done yourself, but if you’re not certain about anything - don’t guess, call a professional.
Leaky taps
The most common area of waterproofing maintenance is usually fixing a leaky tap. Taps with washers will need to have the washer replaced often which is easy to do; a leaky ball tap on the other hand will likely require professional assistance. Know what kind of taps you have before taking everything apart. Again, don’t guess!
Dripping drains
Fixing a leaky drain can be a matter of simply winding on some plumber’s tape around the thread of a join and screwing them together tightly. However, if you have a hole or crack in your piping, then you will need to have it replaced before using that drain again. If this is in a high traffic area such as the bath or shower, this can mean having to call a plumber up very quickly, though drain leaks in these areas are often difficult to detect until problems arise. Getting access to the affected areas can be difficult too, so prevent this from happening by making sure that your drains are perfect right from the start.
Electrical awareness
It’s a good idea too to regularly check the status of waterproofing on your electrical fixtures. If you notice any cracks which could allow water then get them replaced immediately. This includes protective covers for lighting; electricity is not something you want to treat carelessly in a bathroom.
