A burst pipe or a broken down boiler can throw the family home into disarray. Everybody’s hassling you, asking when they’ll be able to shower again, or when the water will be back on. The kids are fighting amongst themselves. It’s chaos. You aren’t going to fix it yourself, so you’ll have to call in a plumber. You’re putting a lot of trust in this person. It can be dangerous if they don’t fix it properly, and that can put your whole family in danger. So you can’t just pick the first person you come across online, you need to put some real thought into it. It might seem like it’s impossible to know whether they’ll be good until they’ve done the work, but that isn’t the case. There are a few key indicators that can help you separate the good from the bad. If you find yourself in an emergency, and in need of a good plumber, here are some things that you should look out for.
Word Of Mouth
The power of word of mouth is constantly underestimated, but it is probably your most valuable tool when trying to find a good plumber. If you know somebody that has recently had work done, you can ask them about the workmen in detail. Did they get their bathroom radiators from the experts, or from a dodgy supplier? Were they polite? Did they finish on time? All of these are important considerations, and you can get answers without having to put yourself at risk.
Official Schemes
If you don’t know anybody that can recommend a good plumber, you’ll have to find one for yourself. One of the first things to look out for is whether they are part of any official scheme that can vouch for their credentials. These services are usually government run and have databases that you can search for registered plumbers in your area. It is never a good idea to use a plumber that isn’t registered.
Online Review Sites
You can get a review for just about anything on the internet these days, and plumbers are no exception. This is the next best thing if you can’t find any word of mouth recommendations. A lot of smaller companies can’t afford to advertise themselves on TV so they use these sites instead. Some of them can even put you in touch with the plumbers if their reviews put you at ease.
Social Media
Social media might not be your thing, but it is a good tool for finding workmen. It is a free way of advertising so you should be able to find most of them on there. One of the main benefits is that you’ll be able to see photographs of their previous work, so you can get a real idea of how good they are. There are also plenty of reviews on there as well. However, you should take those reviews with a pinch of salt, if there are only one or two bad ones, it might be a rival or somebody with a grudge. It is the internet after all.
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