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Thanks for your idea Woodenmecom. I wouldn't expect the dripping water to stay hot though! The idea behind my suggestion is to allow the enzyme cleaner to diffuse into the grease and scum after the trap. I have started to use the idea and hope to report how it works in practice, after a few...

I can see that your method would work. However I don't want to go up a ladder do do that. So I'm hoping my gentle method might work instead.

The problem is that my wash-bowl drain sometimes smells a bit. I've dis-assembled and cleaned the trap and pipes further along and there wasn't any major blockage. So not a major problem. However it would be good to avoid all smells in future by having a really good maintenance method using...

I have been exploring a better way to keep my bathroom drain clean. In the past I have used enzyme sticks and they do clean the trap. But I’m not sure they clean the drain further along. I am going to try a liquid enzyme cleaner for maintenance. About 30-60ml is poured into the trap and I’m...

Thanks for your reply Chirpychirpy. No chance of going on Dragons Den! Magnetically Enhancing a back-draft damper is only for people willing to make something to suit their own system, I think.

I once read a suggestion that a magnet might be used to fully close back-draft dampers. The general response was that magnets would be too strong. You might like to know that have now used a magnet successfully and it works well. There is a satisfying 'knock' as the damper is pulled right in...

I have replaced the actuator as you suggested CBW. And I've replaced the valve itself for good measure. Both were at least 8 years old, so I suppose they haven't done too badly! The system now seems to work perfectly. So I don't think there was any kind of cylinder stat wiring issue. I am...

When the fault occurs I can overcome it by tapping the actuator sharply with my finger tips. So I don't think the fault is caused by anything outside the valve and actuator. I think it's a mechanical issue. The valve is more difficult to turn now than when it was new. And I imagine the...

I have an interesting fault on my Danfoss mid-position 3 port valve. If the valve starts unactivated (DHW position) and there's a call for CH only, then it works every time. So the actuator moves through its full extent and both internal switches work faultlessly. But if the valve starts from...

I agree that the engineer might not agree with me, Gas2Air. But I have lived with this boiler for a long time and the symptoms tell me that a fault with the modulation is very likely. So the engineer might well agree with me. Then we come to the real problem. Can an engineer be certain which...

Okay Are you saying that if a competent gas reg engineer agreed with me that there is something wrong with the modulation then they would be able to test my boiler and know for sure which component is faulty - the control board or the gas valve? Mike

Hi I think the modulation on my Greenstar 18ri boiler is faulty. On very cold mornings the boiler naturally reaches a higher than usual temperature during the initial warm up period. Then the boiler shuts off even when there is still demand (no fault is shown). I can make the boiler start...

The flow I would like to stop is a reverse flow. The water is pumped into the coiled pipe in the cylinder from the top. So when the pump stops the water tends to flow backwards up to the boiler. So maybe a normal non return valve would be better than a featherweight one. But how much...

Thanks for your suggestion about a featherweight check valve. I'll see what I can find.

It has been like this from the start. The possibility of back-flow never occurred to me when I decided my layout. It is a fairly minor problem. The energy loss is probably less than one kilowatt hour per day for 100 days each year. So not hugely expensive. It would just be nice to solve it.

My central heating boiler is close to my hot water cylinder and above it. Consequently there is a gravitational flow from the coiled pipe inside the cylinder back up to the boiler. This occurs when the pump turns off. The result is that the water in the lower part of my cylinder cools down...

Our kitchen is also unsquare. It is more subtle than yours but it does mean that some worktops cannot be completely square. Our floor is also nothing like level - but that is another matter! I accepted the unsquareness rather than trying to hide it. Then I decided which worktops I preferred...

I thought there must be no old sealant at all underneath the new. Hence all the stuff about sealant removers. But my question is about cutting out a small length of the old seal and inserting a small section of new sealant.

I sealed between some solid wood worktops and the wall with silicone sealant. Unfortunately some water has penetrated the wood in one place and gone underneath the silicone seal. I think I need to remove the seal at this place. Then I can sand and oil the wood better, and apply some more...

I am installing an in-line extractor fan in my bathroom and it would be convenient to vent it through the roof. How far does the roof vent need to be from the top of my soil stack?