It’s easy to forget about drains…until they get blocked or damaged. Chances are your household insurance will cover you, but prevention is always better than cure.

Here are a few tips:

don’t pour any cooking fat down the sink – it can harden and you risk clogging drains.

Clean off as much grease as you can with kitchen paper before washing up.

Ditto paint or paint thinners – take them to your recycling centre instead of putting down the sink.

In the bathroom, flush only loo paper – never baby wipes; they cause thousands of blockages a year (always check the pack).

In the bath, a drain screen will stop hair and other solids escaping down the plughole.

Outside, check gutters are not clogged with leaves.

Once a fortnight, chase a handful of soda crystals down the plughole with a kettle of boiling water to keep everything healthy.