BLOG

Home tips and guides

Practical guides and maintenance tips written by professionals working every day in Torrevieja and the Vega Baja.

Technician photographing an installation during a maintenance visit

Home

Maintenance for a property you do not live in: what to check before signing

The product is not the visit, it is the proof the visit happened. Everything else can be promised over the phone.

15 October 20267 min read

Immersion heater element covered in limescale

Plumbing

Hard water in the Vega Baja: what it really damages and what it does not

The water here is hard, that is not in dispute. What is worth discussing is where it does damage and where it is only a nuisance.

Holiday rental apartment being prepared between seasons

Home

Holiday lets: the October turnaround is what saves next summer

In August nothing gets repaired, it gets patched. October is the only month with the flat empty and no rush.

Electrical

The clock change on 25 October and every device you have to reset

Your phone changes itself. The irrigation, the pool and the garden lighting do not, and you notice for weeks.

Bathroom under renovation with tiling removed to shower tray height

Home

What a bathroom renovation costs on the Costa Blanca, and what moves the price

Seven out of ten bathroom jobs we do here start with the same sentence: I can't step into the bath any more.

Landscaped common area of a community of owners on the Costa Blanca

Home

Owners' meeting: which quotes to ask for before you vote

Three quotes that look comparable almost never are. These are the questions that put them on the same scale.

Air conditioning

Air conditioning gets serviced when you switch it off, not when you switch it on

Everyone calls in June, once it has stopped cooling. The useful moment is now, right after four months of work.

Window pane misted with condensation on a cold morning

Home

Why windows mist up on the inside when the cold arrives

Water on the glass in the morning does not mean the window is faulty. It almost always means something else, and it can be fixed.

Technician arriving at a property with his toolbox

Home

What to have ready before the technician arrives (and why it costs you less)

Most of what stretches a call-out could have been sorted in five minutes before the doorbell rang.

Terrace still holding water after an autumn storm

Home

After the storm: what to check at home once the rain stops

The first hours after the rain carry the most information. After that everything dries and you can no longer see where the water came in.

Wall-mounted boiler open during a maintenance service

Air conditioning

Why the boiler gets serviced in October and not in November

In Alcoy, Ibi or Elda the phone does not ring in July, it rings in November. And by November there are no slots left.

Private pool with the filtration plant in the foreground at the end of summer

Home

Winterising your pool on the Costa Blanca: when and how

The water does not freeze here, so wintering is not what it is in northern Europe. And emptying the pool is almost never the right call.

Main stopcock being closed as a property is shut for the season

Home

Closing up for the season: the checklist that saves surprises in March

Half an hour before you close the door saves most of what we find on spring reopenings.

Technician with drain clearing machine beside an open inspection chamber

Drainage

What a drain clearing costs, and what actually drives the price

Nobody can give you a firm drain clearing price over the phone without shading the truth. Here are the variables that move it.

Terrace drain covered in leaves before the autumn rains

Drainage

Getting your home ready for the autumn rain in the Vega Baja

The check that costs one afternoon in September and saves a mess in October. Drains, gutters, chambers and seals.

Person checking the lock on the front door of a property

Home

What to do when the door slams shut and you are locked out

A draught and a slamming door are all it takes to leave you outside. Before forcing anything, these are the steps worth following calmly.

Plumbing

Water hammer and noisy pipes: what they mean and how they are fixed

That sharp bang in the pipework just as you close a tap has a technical name and a specific explanation. Here is why it happens and how it is resolved.

Small apartment bathroom mid-renovation with new tiling

Painting

Renovating a small bathroom in a Torrevieja apartment: where to start

Renovating a small bathroom demands a specific order of decisions and trades. Here is where to start so you avoid delays and mid-project surprises.

Holiday rental apartment ready and tidy before new guests arrive

Home

Preparing your holiday rental between guests: the checklist

There is little room to manoeuvre between one booking and the next. This checklist covers the essentials so nothing surprises you before the next guest arrives.

Electric hot water cylinder installed in the plant room of a property

Plumbing

Electric cylinder or gas water heater: which to choose in a coastal property

Choosing between an electric cylinder and a gas water heater depends less on preference and more on the type of property, how it is occupied, and the hard water here.

Technician inspecting a communal drain chamber in the courtyard of an apartment block

Drainage

Drain chambers and stacks: the maintenance that prevents blockages in blocks

Scheduled maintenance of chambers and stacks works out cheaper than waiting for the next emergency call with several households affected at once.

Ground-floor wall with rising damp staining near the skirting board

Painting

Rising damp on ground floors: why it is so common here

Sea air and a high water table make rising damp a routine problem in coastal ground floors. Here is how to recognise it and how it is properly treated.

Drainage

What a pipe camera inspection is, and when it is worth paying for

A camera survey shows in real time what is happening inside the pipe. Here is when it produces useful information, and when it is money you do not need to spend.

Private villa pool with clean, clear water in summer

Home

How to keep your pool clean through the summer on the Costa Blanca

Fierce sun and constant use mean a pool needs a tighter routine in summer than the rest of the year. Here is what to check weekly, and why.

Plumber checking for a possible water leak under a kitchen sink

Plumbing

How to detect a hidden water leak before it wrecks your bill

A hidden leak can run for months before anything is visible. Here is how to catch it in time using the meter and a few other household signs.

Tanker truck parked beside a villa garden during a septic tank emptying

Drainage

Septic tanks: how often to empty one in a Costa Blanca villa

There is no single figure for emptying a septic tank: it depends on the size of the chamber, how many people live in the villa, and whether occupancy is seasonal or year-round.

Air conditioning

Air conditioning not cooling: 6 causes to check before calling an engineer

Before assuming a serious fault, there are several common and easily checked reasons a split unit stops cooling as it should in the middle of summer.

Bathroom in a coastal property with a shower tray drain in the foreground

Drainage

Drain smells in summer: causes and fixes on the Costa Blanca

Heat and higher summer occupancy send complaints about drain smells through the roof. Learn to tell a dried-out trap from a genuine drainage fault.

Tanker truck with a jetting hose working on a communal inspection chamber

Drainage

Signs you need a tanker truck, not just a drain machine

Not every blockage clears with a hand-held machine. These are the signs that point to a tanker truck with high-pressure jetting, and the technical reason why.

Person clearing a blocked kitchen drain with a plunger

Drainage

How to unblock a kitchen sink drain without damaging the pipe

The kitchen sink blocks more often than anywhere else in the house, and the hard water on this coast makes it worse. Here is what to do, step by step, and which mistakes to avoid entirely.