How Businesses Can Take Steps To Avoid Leaks
If you’re renting your business premises then dealing with water leaks may, in principle, be your landlord’s problem.
In practice, however, the disruption which water leaks can cause is very likely to have a knock-on effect on your business which you’d probably prefer to avoid. That being so, it’s arguably very much in your best interests to work with your landlord to identify leaks promptly and arrange for them to be fixed before they become a major issue. Here are three pointers to help you:-
Get a smart meter and get smart about using it
These days, often the quickest and simplest way to pick up on a water leak is to notice an increase in water usage for which there is no other explanation. In order for you to be able to do this, however, you need a smart meter (which is usually easy enough to get) and then you need to make a point of monitoring it consistently (ditto but it does take a minimal degree of effort). Ideally you will put the smart meter in place after you’ve already conducted a thorough check for leaks, otherwise your benchmark readings will be artificially high. Obviously, you need to apply common sense when looking at your readings, for example, you can expect water usage to go up during hot summers as a result of staff taking showers after cycling to work and refilling water bottles to keep hydrated, but as time goes by, you’ll begin to develop a fairly accurate picture of your water consumption over the course of a year. If, for some reason, you can’t get a smart meter, keep an eye on your bill.
Pay attention to the fabric of your premises
Smart meters are very useful, but so are your eyes, ears and nose, especially in the early days of using a smart meter when you’re still getting to understand what the readings mean in practice. Make regular checks on the fabric of your premises and look out for any signs of water in places it shouldn’t be and stains or odd smells which might indicate either water damage or a sewage leak. Pay particular attention to areas which usually contain water since these tend to be the source of any leaks which do arise, for example, the pipes supplying toilets and sinks. If your business has one or more showers with a tiled surround (as opposed to being in a self-contained shower cabin), then it’s really important to check these regularly as they are notorious for leaks. In addition to checking the tiles for signs of mould (significant quantities of which can indicate a leak) it is a good idea to check the tray itself to ensure that it is draining correctly. A simple and affordable way to do this is to invest in one or more travellers’ plugs, basically the large, flat sort which are designed to fit over any drain, put one of these over each drain, fill the shower tray, put a marker to show the level, and leave it for at least an hour. Hopefully, when you come back, the water will still be at the same level, if it’s not, at least you can console yourself with the fact that you caught the leak early.
Ensure you carry out all appropriate maintenance
The maintenance of the fabric of a building is usually the job of the landlord but the maintenance of appliances may well be a part of the tenant’s responsibility to take due care of the property. Appliances are common sources of leaks, even if you don’t think of them as having much of a connection with water, for example fridges and freezers. They therefore need to be maintained per the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure that they stay in good working order (and hence leak free).
