4 hours ago, Magenta said:

Same here, I wouldn't touch to clean or fix a toilet without disposable gloves and unfortunately I've had to fix far too many times.

I used about 40 disposable plastic gloves during the fix (I had 4 on each hand and regularly changed them out). 
I know my loo is clean because I clean it every other day and have been known to steam clean it.
 

4 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

There's something weird about toilet cistern water too.  It's exactly the same water we drink*, yet it feels dirty just because of it's proximity to the pan!

*(I know some of you will have a disgusting cold water tank in the loft full of dirt, limescale and dead pigeons instead of a mains filled cistern.)

Yes, a lot of people see it that way too. 
There was an accumulation of limescale on top of the screws as I'm in a hard water area. It was gross at the bottom of the tank. 

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I know some of you will have a disgusting cold water tank in the loft full of dirt, limescale and dead pigeons instead of a mains filled cistern.

Do you have anyone in particular in mind? 🤔😁

1 hour ago, RayC333 said:

Do you have anyone in particular in mind? 🤔😁

And how does he know? Sounds quite sinister!😀

This is a weird topic, but just to add my slant. We have a static caravan up the Dales where it often freezes (in summer, the winter's worse!) and at the end of the season we drain everything down. This includes, after a thorough flushing, emptying the toilet bowl so you have to scoop most of it out and then mop up the remaining bit of water with a sponge. I've done it for 19 years so far with no ill effects!

With a 'conventional' boiler type system with header tanks in the loft, the toilet cisterns are usually fed direct from the water mains.  The header tanks are usually there only to feed the hot water storage cylinder - taps, shower etc.

We got rid of our loft tanks some time ago with a new Combi boiler.

However, you still get black 'gunk'building up in the toilet cistern which must be in the water supply.

The water pipes are regularly 'flushed' along the road around here, which causes sand and dirt to end up at the taps indoors.  We're sent letters saying that it 'should' be safe to drink, but to run the tap for longer if it doesn't come through clear on certain days.  That's fine with normal taps, but must build up in the toilet cistern, cold water tank and hot water cylinder over time.

Interestingly, almost all of my relatives had a cold water tank in the loft, or even in a single storey flat, including the house I grew up in.  (Hence my suggestion that there must be a few on here, based on probability!)  I never could work out why though.  It can't be for pressure as we have very high water towers all over the place, though they are now redundant since higher pressure was created at the supply end.  It doesn't create a faster bath or cistern fill as the pipes are the same size.  And it doesn't even mean you can run the mains tap while someone else runs a bathroom tap because the tank filler effectively halves the pressure between the two anyway.  As far as I can tell, the only benefit of a cold water tank is to provide an 'overflow' for a conventional hot water cylinder.  But surely we aren't going to all the effort of installing a cold water tank and pipework just for that?

Having said all that, I've had no end of problems with an unvented hot cylinder in my property, the vented types were at least more reliable.

So far I've only ever lived in all electric properties.  There wasn't any mains gas where I grew up.  I have noticed that a lot of the properties I see to rent now still have a gas hob, with an electric cooker.  Genuinely interested to know whether a gas hob has any real benefits over an electric halogen hob to make people stick with them during a kitchen upgrade?  

In my studio flat, built mid 60's, it has a large water tank above the hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard. AFAIK it's there to feed the cylinder and provide pressure for the hot water taps only. 

The only gunk I get in and around the toilet cistern is mould, no doubt due the continuous proximity of water.

No drowned pigeons in my gaff 😄

The roads are now starting to get filthy, and I now own a white car..  🫤

35 minutes ago, RayC333 said:

In my studio flat, built mid 60's, it has a large water tank above the hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard. AFAIK it's there to feed the cylinder and provide pressure for the hot water taps only. 

The only gunk I get in and around the toilet cistern is mould, no doubt due the continuous proximity of water.

No drowned pigeons in my gaff 😄

I didn't realise they were building studio flats that early.  It's worth following the pipes to see what it does feed if you're interested.  In my Mum's & Nan's properties the cold tank fed the toilet cistern, bath/shower mixer, and basin cold, as well as the hot water cylinder.  The only 'fresh' mains water was from the kitchen tap, all of the rest went through the cold tank first.

Seems odd to waste all that space in a studio flat so there must be something I'm missing here.  The hot cylinder would already be pressurised by the cold coming in so I don't think it's there to provide pressure. 🤔

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Seems odd to waste all that space in a studio flat so there must be something I'm missing here.  The hot cylinder would already be pressurised by the cold coming in so I don't think it's there to provide pressure. 🤔

No gas to the building, and the cylinder is the only water heating. Takes up most of the airing cupboard.

Mains cold goes to the bath and kitchen cold taps, header tank and the toilet cistern. 

Hot water taps are under no pressure other than from the raised header tank (hence a poor flow).

I suppose I could upgrade to new fangled heat pump.

17 minutes ago, RayC333 said:

Hot water taps are under no pressure other than from the raised header tank (hence a poor flow).

I had my house built over 30 years ago, wish I'd have known more about basic stuff like this back then, my poor hot water flow still bugs me!

1 hour ago, RayC333 said:

No gas to the building, and the cylinder is the only water heating. Takes up most of the airing cupboard.

Mains cold goes to the bath and kitchen cold taps, header tank and the toilet cistern. 

Hot water taps are under no pressure other than from the raised header tank (hence a poor flow).

I suppose I could upgrade to new fangled heat pump.

That's the same setup as mine for heating water.  Although I have an unvented cylinder so no need for the separate cold tank which must take up more room in your cupboard.  

Despite the cylinder being very compact here, the pipework routing is so bad that half the cupboard space is lost due that floating in mid air!

The mains water pressure is fine because it's under higher pressure from external pumping stations, no need for gravity any more.  And the unvented cylinder just relays the same pressure.  (Until it breaks anyway).  Interestingly one of the pumping stations failed in the summer and the pressure was ridiculously low then.

That is strange all of your cold feeds are mains.  Genuinely haven't seen that setup in this area.

Don't think heat pumps work effectively in studio flats?  Unless you mean just a pump for the hot water, I know those are an option now.  Though people generally fit electric showers instead I think.

I'm guessing you have storage heaters being all electric?  Hate them myself.  I'm not sold on gas hobs yet but central heating is something I definitely wish I had!

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

In my Mum's & Nan's properties the cold tank fed the toilet cistern, bath/shower mixer, and basin cold, as well as the hot water cylinder.  The only 'fresh' mains water was from the kitchen tap, all of the rest went through the cold tank first.

That was the normal situation for years although most new builds now do not have any storage.

At one time I think there were Water Byelaws that said you had to have a certain amount of storage.

Also the Water Mains were Cast Iron with Lead Pipes as well and they used to leak frequently, so you needed storage. The Cast Iron Main serving my street used to leak two or three times a year which wasn't a massive problem because we have a conventional system.

The Water Companies also wanted the minimum amount of connections to the Mains to lessen the chance of contamination when the Mains failed and were under negative pressure. All new houses have Double Check Valves where the Mains enter the house to prevent that now.

Having most fittings fed from a Tank also means that the pipework and fittings are under less pressure than if they were fed of the Mains.

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Don't think heat pumps work effectively in studio flats?  Unless you mean just a pump for the hot water, I know those are an option now.  Though people generally fit electric showers instead I think.

I'm guessing you have storage heaters being all electric?  Hate them myself.  I'm not sold on gas hobs yet but central heating is something I definitely wish I had!

I did consider fitting a pump but haven't done so and know zilch about heat pumps. Rarely take a bath as prefer to use an electric shower. For washing up and the like I just boil a kettle. Washing machine is cold fill. All in all I just manage with what I have.

The flat had one storage heater when I moved in but it wasn't very controllable. I removed it and just use a wall mounted electric heater - one of the glass fronted flame effect things. Bathroom and kitchen have simple 2kw wall mounted fan heaters when I need them.

1 hour ago, RayC333 said:

I did consider fitting a pump but haven't done so and know zilch about heat pumps. Rarely take a bath as prefer to use an electric shower. For washing up and the like I just boil a kettle. Washing machine is cold fill. All in all I just manage with what I have.

The flat had one storage heater when I moved in but it wasn't very controllable. I removed it and just use a wall mounted electric heater - one of the glass fronted flame effect things. Bathroom and kitchen have simple 2kw wall mounted fan heaters when I need them.

Ah, I'd forgotten about filling baths.  Never was a fan of those and haven't missed them in my own flat with just a shower.

My bathroom (without a bath lol) has a storage heater which is a terrible idea.  It's always too hot or too cold, and must cost more to run that for the full duration of cheap rate than just running a fan heater as & when needed albeit on normal rate.

Don't like all the Xmas music on Radio X over the last couple of days.  Any suggestions for an alternative alternative radio station?

4 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Don't like

Welcome back to the "Things I Don't Like" forum. Good to see you're feeling better today 🤣

@StephenFord likes a bit of BBC radio 5, I'm sure he would enjoy the company he's been listening on his own for years 🤣

56 minutes ago, unofix said:

Welcome back to the "Things I Don't Like" forum. Good to see you're feeling better today 🤣

Normal service has definitely been resumed today...  Remember a few weeks ago I said I should probably check my own 12v battery? 

 

On 11/28/2024 at 2:58 PM, Nick Y said:

I don't like having to fix my lavatory after the cistern bolts corroded and started leaking. 
I hate being near anything germy.
I've had to decontaminate myself and the bathroom with medical grade antibacterial and antiviral sprays and wipes. 

Well, the thing still leaks on one side after replacing the bolts and seals. 
I keep tightening the wing nut underneath and the screw inside the cistern but it still leaks a little. 
I've tried loosening them too to see if I'd done it too tight but obviously not. 

I don't want to have to strip the whole thing down again. 

40 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I should probably check my own 12v battery?

Oh dear !! 🙁

......and on the subject of things I don't like

Last night my electric oven went off. Much to my surprise it had tripped the 20A circuit breaker. So after a quick inspection, I reset the breaker and all was well, well almost. I noticed that the oven light was off.

So today I took the fitting apart and found the bulb in a hundred bits and a big flash mark across the fitting. Not too worry I thought, a quick trip to Screwfix and £5.95 latter I had a pack of two new bulbs.

It took only five minutes to fit the new lamp and put the glass cover back and then switch on. Excellent I thought as the oven was once again brightly illuminated 😀

Success was short lived. I find now that the electronic switch no longer works and the light is on and the it can not be turned off !! 🙄

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Don't like all the Xmas music on Radio X over the last couple of days.  Any suggestions for an alternative alternative radio station?

Heart Xmas?? 😂😂

5 minutes ago, unofix said:

......and on the subject of things I don't like

Last night my electric oven went off. Much to my surprise it had tripped the 20A circuit breaker. So after a quick inspection, I reset the breaker and all was well, well almost. I noticed that the oven light was off.

So today I took the fitting apart and found the bulb in a hundred bits and a big flash mark across the fitting. Not too worry I thought, a quick trip to Screwfix and £5.95 latter I had a pack of two new bulbs.

It took only five minutes to fit the new lamp and put the glass cover back and then switch on. Excellent I thought as the oven was once again brightly illuminated 😀

Success was short lived. I find now that the electronic switch no longer works and the light is on and the light can not be turned off !! 🙄

Oh dear, how are going to manage?? 😂

3 hours ago, Nick Y said:

Well, the thing still leaks on one side after replacing the bolts and seals. 
I keep tightening the wing nut underneath and the screw inside the cistern but it still leaks a little. 
I've tried loosening them too to see if I'd done it too tight but obviously not. 

I don't want to have to strip the whole thing down again. 

Did you put any plumbers grease around the seals?  That should be waterproof and remain flexible.

14 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Did you put any plumbers grease around the seals?  That should be waterproof and remain flexible.

nope. Didn't know it was needed. Instructions never mentioned that either. 

4 minutes ago, Nick Y said:

nope. Didn't know it was needed. Instructions never mentioned that either. 

It's belt and braces really.  Not an absolute requirement as the rubber should be enough of a seal in most cases.  But if you do end up doing it again, it might be worth adding some.