At Whywait Plumbing we see every day the consequences of deferred maintenance on what is typically most peoples largest asset. Most people know they need to perform all the little maintenance tasks on their home but typically they put them off until tomorrow, and tomorrow never comes until disaster strikes.

At some point most people wash their windows and cannot believe how much more they can see. As storm season approaches during the summer many people will clean out their gutters but let all the debris fall into the downpipes then wonder why the gutters overflow. All in all these are tasks we all know we must perform but there are other important maintenance tasks that are just about always overlooked such as:

1. Check the storm water drains - there is little point in cleaning gutters if the water cannot drain through the storm water drainage system. To check put a hose into the downpipe and watch for water to drain out into the pit or onto the discharge point on the street.
2. Drain your hot water service- sediment accumulates in the bottom of the tank which reduces heating efficiency, increases running costs and can shorten the life expectancy of the storage tank.
3. Clean drainage traps on sinks, bath, basins & shower - in the bathroom traps hair and soap scum accumulate and make the drain run slow so mix up baking soda and vinegar and pour into the trap but do not run water.
4. Clean your clothes dryer vent- here in SE Queensland many people only use their clothes dryers if it is raining but a clear exhaust vent is an absolute must for the clothes dryer to function correctly. Too much lint buildup causes the premature failure of critical parts such as bearings and the element.
5. Clean the fridge coils - the coils at the rear of your fridge need to be free of dust and grit to ensure the fridge functions correctly. It is simple to pull out the fridge and vacuum the rear coils and at the same time the floor and wall areas.
6. Replace water supply hoses - your washing machine and dishwasher come with plastic hoses that can burst. A simple method to protect it is to install stainless steel braided hoses.
7. Clean air conditioning filters- in the summer months its vital that you clean and wash your air filters every month to prevent dust being recycled through your home.

The list of maintenance tasks in your home is endless but like maintaining your car it cannot be put off endlessly. Some of the tasks listed above need to be undertaken by a licensed plumber but the most frugal thing you can do with your home is to take care of what you already have.

Dale Dixon, CEO of Gold Coast City Council investigating Keith Farrelly

For years now it has been common knowledge within the plumbing industry that the Gold Coast City Council plumbing inspectors are a deeply troubled organisation with bullying, abuse of power, nepotism, cronyism and double standards a daily occurrence. On 13 April 2012 the Gold Coast Bulletin published the following story on page 5 as reprinted below:

“THE man in charge of the Gold Coast City Council’s plumbing department has been fined $2000 for carrying out unlawful building work. Keith Farrelly, the plumbing and drainage co-ordinator, was caught installing a hot-water system without a contractor licence.

While the department can be responsible for issuing infringement notices, Mr Farrelly claims he did not know he needed a licence to do the work.

A council spokesman said it would not take action against him because it did not relate to his role with the organisation. Mr Farrelly is appealing the fine. 

Building Services Authority general manager Ian Jennings confirmed Mr Farrelly had installed a solar hot-water system without holding the appropriate class contractor licence.

The council spokesman said Mr Farrelly was doing the work free for his nephew. “(He was) unaware he needed a contractors’ licence to do this work which, under the Plumbing and Drainage Act, is regarded as minor work,” he said.

The spokesman said Mr Farrelly’s role involved dealing with requirements under the Plumbing and Drainage Act, not the Queensland building services contractors’ requirements.”

For struggling Gold Coast building companies to discover that Keith Farrelly, the co-ordinator of Council’s Plumbing Department was fined $2000 by the Building Services Authority for carrying out unlicensed plumbing work is bad enough. To then find out he is still working for the city is an absolute disgrace.

Farrelly’s implausible excuse? He was helping out a relative at no charge. Senior bureaucrats have obviously found this implausible excuse acceptable. Farrelly is a senior council officer with in excess of 20 years employment at Gold Coast City Council who hands out fines for breeches of the plumbing regulations and building codes on a daily basis. Yet we are expected to accept that he did not know his legal obligation under that same code.

Again, those senior bureaucrats in Dale Dixon’s office knew of this and chose to take no action. This raises the question of how much more remains hidden as their duty is clear. Why the apparent protection of an officer who should have been immediately dismissed or at least suspended to enable an independent investigation to occur?

The new Gold Coast City Council needs to get to the bottom of this and investigate if this obvious protectionist attitude is endemic throughout council and what else they are hiding. There should be no tolerance for this kind of cronyism in the council and those responsible should be right now entertaining the prospect of joining the unemployment line which they have had a large part in creating on the Gold Coast.

Unlike many companies Whywait Plumbing do not charge a surcharge to pay by credit card. From our perspective the fees the bank charges us to accept a credit card are negligible, with the benefits of same day payment far outweighing the bank fees.

This policy is unlikely to change as we continually see other companies charging excessively their own clients to make payment via a credit card. It is increasingly the norm with businesses that charge a surcharge for using a credit card to charge double what the bank charges them. This is disguised as administrative fees that would be incurred whether you pay by credit card, cash or cheque. Far too many companies are making additional profit from their own clients using a credit card.

At Whywait Plumbing we bank with Bendigo Bank and the fees they charge us for processing Visa and MasterCard is 0.76%. Unlike other banks Bendigo Bank deposit credit card payments into our bank account same day. With American Express it is slightly different as we have to pay 1.97% and it can take up to 48 hours for the money to be deposited into our bank account.

Put simply the installation of a Roma toilet suite for a service partner costs $758.02 and if they pay by Visa or MasterCard the cost to us is $5.76. Even if they pay by American Express the cost is still $14.93. Either way you look at it those fees are much less than the administrative cost of sending out an invoice then waiting for payment by cheque and possibly having to chase up payment and then going to the bank and physically banking a cheque.

At Whywait Plumbing we guarantee we will never charge clients for the convenience of accepting payment by credit card. We urge you to challenge the validity of businesses that frequently charge you 3-5% for using a credit card when it is highly unlikely they are paying anything like that to their bank.

The United Nations report released by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova points out the following on the management of the worlds drinking water:

• Freshwater is not being used sustainably
• Accurate information remains disparate, and management is fragmented
• The future is increasingly uncertain and risks are set to deepen

The report identifies the demand from agriculture, which already sucks up around 70 percent of freshwater used globally as the problem area. Agricultural use of water is likely to rise by at least 19 percent by 2050 as the world’s population swells an estimated 2 billion people to 9 billion. To meet the population demands farmers will need to grow 70 percent more food by 2050 as rising living standards mean individuals demand more food, and meat in particular.

In Australia a silent revolution has taken place underground, as the amount of water sucked from below the surface from the vast underground aquifers has tripled in the past 50 years, removing a buffer against drought. This is occurring in many other countries and is causing alarm not only for farmers but for cities that rely on these water flows.

Worldwide as demand increases for water supply in many regions is likely to shrink because of changed rainfall patterns, greater droughts, melting glaciers and altered river flows. Water stress is already being felt in Australia, South-East Asia and Africa with climate change predicted to drastically effect food production through to 2030. Asia in particular is suffering water stress with 60 percent of the world’s population but only around a third of water resources. Unless management policies are drastically altered  by 2070 water stress will also be felt in central and southern Europe.

A separate water study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released last week forecast world water demand would rise by 55 percent by 2050, with more than 40 percent of the global population likely to live in water basins facing water stress.  With limited supply governments will have to better manage the competing demands of farmers, energy producers and humans demanding drinking water and sanitation. Policy interaction is required to change now between the diverse communities of users, decision makers and isolated water managers because to date a lack of co-ordinated policy has caused serious degradation of the water resources in all countries.

The World Health Organisation, (WHO) has confirmed the United Nations aim to raise the proportion of people with access to safe potable drinking water by 2015 had actually been reached at the end of 2010. This is despite the fact that  French charity Solidarites International states 1.9 billion people remained without safe drinking water, not the 783 million estimated by the United Nations.

Water remains the basis of all life and its management is a world problem that needs tackling now.

Tony Abbott - Australian federal leader of the opposition

Federal opposition Leader, Tony Abbott has confirmed a private member’s bill will be introduced into the Australian parliament to extend the minority federal Labor government’s axed solar hot water rebate scheme. Greens leader Bob Brown has indicated it is likely they will support the private members bill.

The renewable energy bonus scheme was originally introduced in 2007 by the Liberal / National Coalition government of John Howard. Labor had retained the renewable energy bonus scheme with rebates of $1000 offered to Australians to install a solar hot water system, or $600 to install a solar heat pump hot water system.

The scheme was due to cease on 30 June 2012 and was widely expected to be continued with allowances in the forward estimates for the 2012-13 budget, but the Labor government suddenly closed it down at 5pm last Tuesday, 28 February 2012.

Tony Abbott has said that with the support of the Greens, which supports the minority Labor government, the scheme could be reinstated as the termination of the scheme had made it difficult for the manufacturing industry.

Tony Abbott is quoted as saying  “We believe in solar, that’s why solar is a very important part of our direct action plan to reduce emissions and improve the environment. What we want to do immediately from opposition is get our private member’s bill into the parliament. That will ensure that the money the government has allocated is spent on this scheme, and that the scheme continues at least until the previously announced termination date”.

SolarArk evacuated tubes on roof

The sudden closure of the scheme has been strongly condemned from manufacturers and the solar industry in general, including industry bodies, and the plumbing industry. If the scheme is not reintroduced there are redundancies expected in all sectors of the industry.

Whywait Plumbing installs SolarArk solar hot water systems along with Aquatech and Quantum solar heat pump systems and in the week since the axing of the scheme was announced has had a number of projects cancelled as clients had not paid a deposit before the axing was announced and therefore were ineligible for the rebate.

Job losses are already being experienced on the Gold Coast with the axing of the scheme as solar hot water installations was one of the few growth areas for the plumbing industry on the Gold Coast.  One Gold Coast company was forced to lay off 5 apprentices as a result of the axing of the scheme and more are expected in coming weeks as orders dry up.

Sewer odour is in fact hydrogen sulphide and has a characteristic rotten egg smell which can be detected at very low levels, well below those that are known to cause health effects.

The sewer odour smell can cause worry, anxiety and resentment as it overwhelms the sense of smell. Repeated odour events may culminate in real symptoms such as headache, fatigue and nausea. Although these are not direct health effects they are undesirable. It is unlikely the odour will effect your health as humans smell it at very low levels as hydrogen sulphide is denser than air and tends to pool on the ground or the floor especially inside a building. Any absorbed hydrogen sulphide does not accumulate in the body as it is rapidly metabolised in the liver and excreted in the urine.

The problems with sewer odour inside buildings is often related to the venting of the drainage system which requires the installation of filters. Over the years at Whywait Plumbing we have tried many different filter systems and non return valves with varying degrees of success to control sewer odour.

New reasearch to develop a novel, eco-friendly filter to remove toxic gases from the air has found that a material made from used coffee grounds can sop up hydrogen sulphide gas. CCNY chemical engineering develops and tests materials that scrub toxic gases like hydrogen sulphide from air in industrial facilities and pollution control plants. Similar to the grains of charcoal packed into a water filter cartridges the CCNY filters use a form of charcoal called activated carbon.

The manufacturers of activated carbon producers already use materials like coal, wood, peat, fruit pits, and coconut shells to make filters. CCNY concluded that our modern coffee culture could supply an abundant source of eco-friendly organic waste. An added advantage is that coffee grounds also come equipped with a special ingredient that boosts their smell-fighting power. The stimulant that gives coffee its energy jolt which is caffeine also contains nitrogen. Nitrogen dramatically increases the carbon’s ability to clean hydrogen sulphide from the air through a process called adsorption.

Manufacturers traditionally have treated the carbon with nitrogen rich chemicals such as ammonia, melamine, or even urea the main nitrogen-containing substance in urine. All of these treatments significantly increase the cost of adsorbents. CCNY carbonised coffee grounds turning them into charcoal by a process of activation that fills the carbon with scores of minute holes about 10-30 angstroms in diameter and roughly equivalent to 10-30 hydrogen atom-widths across. These densely packed pores are blanketed with nitrogen, perfect to capture hydrogen sulphide molecules passing through.

Trials are continuing on the filters with positive results so just remember next time you have a coffee the grounds that made it can be developed into a environmentally sustainable green filter that can control the most nauseating odour of all – sewer odour.

A call like this always makes us wonder about the competence and integrity of the three plumbers who said we overcharged. For a start no professional plumber can, should or could give a price over the phone without inspecting the job on site thoroughly and undertaking a complete diagnosis of what the problem is.

Generally the plumbers who indulge in giving prices over the phone use it as a tactic to gain entry to a clients home. The final price always ends up being much more expensive because they find all these additional problems after they start the job. These “Joe Bum-Crack” plumbers seldom last in business long but in the short time they exist they cause legitimate plumbing businesses countless problems with their poor business ethics and lack of business acumen.

Every day here at Whywait Plumbing we receive phone calls or email from plumbers looking for a job. A significant number of these plumbers fit the category of Joe Bum-Crack plumbers who have been running their own plumbing business and discover it is much harder than they thought it would be.

We have in the past employed such people, always to our detriment. The last person we employed that could be described as a Joe Bum-Crack plumber was a perfect text book example. In fact lets call him Joe as he came into the interview perfectly dressed in answer to our advertisement for an experienced maintenance plumber. Joe was in his 50′s and had done it all from working in construction to being an inspector to running his own business. When asked why he was giving up running his own plumbing business he replied that his wife had told him to go and get a real job.

Joe then went onto describe what it was like running his own plumbing business which he had started with high hopes after 27 years as an employee of various large companies and a water authority. Joe described how he knew what he wanted as his own boss as he knew there was a fortune to be made running his own business plus for the first time ever he was in control of everything and best of all could work when he chose and be at home when he chose.

Reality was much different to Joe’s perception of being the boss. Joe soon discovered that being the boss is much harder than it looks. Joe had discovered that running a business was more than being a good technical plumber because it also meant now he was the boss that he was in charge of marketing, employee relations, customer relations, credit management, book keeping, answering the phone, dealing with plumbers merchants and so the list went on. All Joe wanted to be was a wealthy plumber.

Joe now knew that running a plumbing business was not a path to instant wealth in fact the opposite was the truth with every minute of his time being spent on running the business. Joe was shocked at the reaction of Reeces Plumbing Supplies when his account was late being paid. Joe as an employee had used Reeces for years and the people behind the counter he considered as mates. He was shocked when his credit was suspended because after all these were longtime mates of his and he was sure they would understand that a client had not paid him so he could not pay them.

Joe was well aware of Whywait Plumbing and he confided that he had always believed we were  ripoff merchants. Joe was aware of our sign-written utes, websites, yellow pages advertising, radio advertising, broadcast email, diagnostic charges and letter box drops which he had always regarded as a waste of money because everyone knows word of mouth gives you plenty of work or so he once thought. He was astounded when word of mouth did not provide a multitude of work and that to get his phone ringing he would need to spend what he believed was a “shitload of money” on advertising and marketing to get his name out there.

After 18 months of being the boss Joe now understood why Whywait Plumbing spends what he calls a “shitload” of money on advertising and was astounded when he was informed it was only 4% of our turnover.  Now Joe was wanting us to give him a job because his wife had told him after 18 months of struggling to make ends meet to get a real job.

Joe did work for Whywait Plumbing for 3 months but in the end was unable to adapt to a plumbing business that was up front about the cost of the work before undertaking the work. Joe just wanted to turn on the taxi meter and keep charging the client until the work was complete and then let someone else worry about who was paying. This was why Joe the boss had his credit stopped at Reeces. This was why Joe the boss had constant arguments with clients. This is why Joe the boss is just Joe the disgruntled employee who still thinks he knows more than the boss.

Very simply there is only one rule in business and that is to make a profit and to make a profit you must firstly know your costs. That is why at Whywait Plumbing we price every job in advance….no if’s, no but’s.

Gold Coast Water that may come to life on 1 July is only a water retailer. It will not lead to reductions in the cost of water simply because the Queensland Government controls the price of water that is sold to retailers. As a result the wholesale cost of water is the bulk of a water bill because someone has to pay for the reckless spending by the Beattie-Bligh governments on projects that include the $7 billion water grid that may never be used and the troubled desalination plant at Tugun plus the $500 million for Traveston Dam, which wasn’t built despite costly planning and land resumptions.

Gold Coast City Council is not responsible for the originally highly respected water utility being taken over by the Queensland Government it was simply legislated that way. The spin by Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser into making Gold Coast ratepayers believe the soaring water bills are all the councils’ fault is bizarre at best because they control the price of the wholesale cost. The government spin campaign caused a misguided people-power revolt on the Gold Coast with Allconnex Water workers even having their cars attacked. Allconnex has to collect rates to a prescribed formula set by the State Government.

Gold Coast ratepayers should direct their anger at the Queensland Labor MP’s who voted to destroy Gold Coast Water not at the Gold Coast City Councillors who were forced to vote to disband Gold Coast Water in accordance with law changes enacted by the Queensland Government. The new Gold Coast Water will only be a shadow of its former self but will still have to generate income to fund more than $1 billion in new water and sewerage plants over the next decade. The Queensland Labor Government state has removed all subsidies, so Gold Coast Water revived will be looking for new revenue. It means ratepayers will pick up the tab in raised rates and water charges – or Gold Coast Water will go broke.

Current Gold Coast mayor, Ron Clark has consistently spoken against the Queensland Government takeover of water in South East Queensland. Even the Council of Mayors warned in 2007 that the proposed takeover of water was simply cost-shifting by the state. If the revived Gold Coast Water proceeds we may not have to wait too years before we really understand the negative impact of Labor’s reforms. In the meantime Gold Coast ratepayers will continue to pay and pay and pay. Even the Queensland Governments own water commissioner, Elizabeth Nosworthy, in 2007 released the pricing for water in southeast Queensland said that “by 2012-13, a typical household’s annual cost would increase from $355 to $876, an increase of 147 per cent”. This was all but ignored at the time but she was on the money.

So when Gold Coast voters receive their Allconnex water bills next week remember when you go to the polls on 24 March it was local Labor MP’s Peta-Kaye Croft, Peter Lawler, Christine Smith and Margaret Keech who destroyed Gold Coast Water and drove water prices up 147% in 4 years.

The most common plumbing tasks that cleaners who are untrained, unskilled and unlicensed appear to be being required to undertake as part of their cleaning duties are:

• unblocking of drains
• unblocking of toilets
• disconnecting and clearing of traps
• servicing of urinals

The only plumbing related tasks a cleaner or any other person can legally undertake are:

• cleaning or maintaining ground level grates to traps on sanitary drains
• replacing caps to ground level inspection openings on sanitary drains
• maintaining an above or below ground irrigation system for the disposal of effluent from an on-site sewerage facility
• installing or maintaining an irrigation or lawn watering system downstream from an isolating valve, tap or back-flow prevention device on the supply pipe for the irrigation or lawn watering system
• replacing a jumper valve or washer in a tap
• changing a shower head
• replacing, in a water closet (WC) cistern, a drop valve washer, float valve washer or suction cup rubber.

All other work must be undertaken by a licensed plumber and drainer – no ifs, no buts, no exceptions.

Cleaners who are required and frequently forced by their supervisors and employers to undertake plumbing tasks usually at the behest of building owners and managers are all breaking the following laws and regulations:

• Building Services Authority Act 1991
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011
• Queensland Plumbing and Wastewater Code
• Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002
• Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003
• Standard Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003

Plumbers and drainers unlike cleaners are trained to undertake tasks such as clearing of drains or working on toilets or urinals. All of these tasks require specialised training, diagnostic skills and an awareness of health and safety issues. Above all plumbers are licensed to undertake the work by the Queensland Government plumbing regulator, the Plumbing Industry Council who are legally required to protect public health and safety through Queensland’s plumbing and drainage licensing system.

Tasks such as unblocking of drains, unblocking of toilets, disconnecting and clearing of traps or servicing of urinals are specifically covered by schedule 2 of Standard Plumbing & Drainage Regulation 2003 as detailed below:

• work necessary for maintaining, repairing or replacing a fitting or fixture
• work necessary for maintaining or repairing an apparatus other than a back-flow prevention device or thermostatic mixing valve
• work necessary for replacing apparatus other than a backflow prevention device, thermostatic mixing valve, tempering valve, water heater, cistern, pump or water meter
• work necessary for maintaining, repairing or replacing fire hydrants or fire hose reels
• unblocking a pipe that is sanitary plumbing or sanitary drainage
• work necessary for maintaining or repairing a solar or heat pump hot water system in a building classified under BCA as a class 1, 2, 3 or 4 building

Work undertaken under schedule 2 does not require lodgement of a form 4 with the local government plumbing & drainage inspectors but all work must be undertaken by a licensed plumber or drainer.

A cleaner despite what they are told cannot undertake any of the above tasks. They and those that instruct them to do the work are breaking the law and all are liable for fines plus leave themselves exposed to common law claims under the due diligence provisions of the new WHS Act 2011.

It is very simple if there is general cleaning of a plumbing fixture then there is no issue but where a component part is replaced or disconnected from the plumbing or drainage system, fixture or fitting for maintenance or servicing it can only be legally undertaken by a licensed plumber.

In South East Queensland the next two months of January and February are traditionally the hottest months of the year. With the hot weather comes the concerns of dehydration. Very simply more than 70% of the human body is water, so when the temperatures increase the body cools itself by sweating. If water intake is not adequate then dehydration can become a real danger. This is frequently worse with children if their fluid intake of water is inadequate.

It is all of our personal responsibility to ensure our intake of water is frequent and adequate. It is important to realise that you can become dehydrated long before the symptom’s appear, so prevention is critical and prevention is simply drinking water. Prevention does not include drinking fruit juices or sugary soft drinks.

Dehydration will not only impair your normal daily performance but dramatically increases the risk of heat related illnesses such as cramps, headaches, exhaustion or even heat stroke. Possible signs of dehydration may include:

• extreme thirst
• extreme fatigue
• muscle and joint weakness
• headache and or dizziness
• dry or sticky mouth
• cramping of muscles
• irritability
• decreased performance

If you notice yourself or anyone else with the above symptom’s it is important to find a cool place and cool the body with water. The water should be sipped not gulped and the rest should continue until the body returns to normal. By recognising the signs of dehydration and taking measures to prevent it will increase everyone’s overall health.

The carrying of water bottles should be standard before leaving home. There is no need to buy expensive bottles of water at the supermarket or service station when you literally have it on tap at home. Even if you do not like the taste of water from Allconnex it is a comparatively simple job for Whywait Plumbing Services to install a good quality filtration system to remove the chemicals such as chlorine that create the poor taste many people associate with tap water. Once you have good quality filtered drinking water the purchase of reusable personal drinking bottles will ensure the entire family can be active, healthy and always hydrated in our hottest months by simply drinking regularly.