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Home tips and guides

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

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.

20 August 20266 min read

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.