Looking after your home and car: prevention is better than cure

Limescale not only makes itself at home in the kettle or shower – it can also find its way into water pipes. It blocks pipes, and in turn causes the water pressure to fall. Without this water pressure, many washing machines and dishwashers stop working. The main problem with this is that, if there is a burst hose, the water stop doesn’t kick in (because the pressure in the pipe is too low). Which means your home could end up flooded. Repairing the pipes is a lot more expensive and much more troublesome than performing simple maintenance on them in advance. So how do you go about that? Pay attention to your plumbing. If your water leaves whitish stains on surfaces, it’s a sign that your water is very hard – and that there is almost certainly limescale in your pipes.

You can check whether this is the case using an inspection camera with a waterproof camera head and cable. Its 8-mm wide head means you can insert the UniversalInspect into the drain of your kitchen/bathroom sink or bathtub, down into the pipes below. You can then view and assess the condition of your pipes on the black-and-white picture on the display. If there are only small amounts of limescale, we recommend installing a limescale filter. This will ensure that the limescale crystallises and doesn’t deposit in the pipes. If you have a more serious limescale problem, you need to call in the professionals.

Every home owner should take a close look at hollow spaces, intermediate/raised floors and suspended ceilings from time to time – just to check everything is in order. One particularly unwelcome visitor is dry rot – a fungus that infects wood and that can quickly spread throughout a house or apartment. The biggest danger is that the fungus infects and decays wooden substructures. House rot does not like drafts, which is why it likes to nest in hollow spaces or suspended ceilings – precisely where you can’t see it. But with an inspection camera, you can get a good view inside these hard-to-reach places. And by switching between colour and black-and-white mode, you will almost certainly be able to spot any house rot. For an even better view, try using a camera that can be turned 180 degrees, such as the UniversalInspect. And if you are still unsure if you’ve got a house rot problem, simply show the images to an expert.

Is the water falling from your drainpipe drop by drop? Or did you get an unwanted shower because the gutter is already overflowing? Then you almost certainly have a blocked gutter – and you need to act quickly because the backed-up water could damage your home’s facade. To resolve the issue, you first need to find out which part of the gutter is blocked. You can get a good view of the gutter from the skylight or window in the roof. But assessing the drainpipe is harder: to do that, you need an inspection camera. Simply take a photo at the bottom of the drainpipe, looking up – just as you would when you’re checking a chimney.

Use a small garden trowel to remove the leaves from the gutter. If your gutter is high up, it’s best to call in a professional. To clean the drainpipe, use a pressure washer and extension nozzle, and try to clear the blockage from below.

Vintage cars, in particular, require regular maintenance. But this isn’t always easy – especially when it comes to the engine and its many dark, hidden spots. An inspection camera can help you look for rust and serial/part numbers. It fits in even the smallest spaces and is ideal for inspecting cables, in particular. Do the cable jackets look okay? Are there any tears or charred areas? If so, you should act quickly – because there’s a high risk of a short circuit. Use an inspection camera to quickly view hard-to-access places in the engine or on the bottom of the car.