Staying hydrated and refreshed is essential for getting through the humid summer months, however, a heavy reliance on water can send water bills soaring - and can even lead to nationwide shortages! 

So, how can you be frugal with your water supply in a way that isn’t too restrictive or impeding on your daily lifestyle? Being careful with your water use doesn’t mean stopping completely, it just means opting for wiser choices that will mount up in the long run.

To prevent any hefty bills, damage to the environment or the likes of hosepipe bans over the warmer months, consult MonsterPlumb’s guide on ways to save water this summer. 

Water Saving Tips for Showers 

The average bath uses around 80 litres of water, which quickly mounts up to an unfathomable amount if regularly used. This can result in some high bills, particularly if they’re steaming hot. Cut down on baths and take a shower instead!

• Taking a shower cuts down almost half the water usage 
• Conserve water by taking

The UK isn’t particularly known for glorious weather, so it’s no wonder that the majority of homes don’t have air conditioning installed. However, now and again the sun does make a surprise appearance and with it comes a clammy heat that can make things like getting to sleep especially difficult. 

Fortunately, we’ve comprised several tips on how to cool down a room without air conditioning. 

How to keep your house cool in summer  

Whilst we’re proud of our range of round top, compact and seam top radiators, turning them down or completely off in the summer is a pretty easy way to keep the heat down in your home. 

To cleverly manage the heating in your home with minimal effort on your part, there’s a range of room thermostats and timers available.

Models like this Honeywell CM707 7 Day Programmable Room Thermostat are kitted out with useful tools to change the temperature in an instant or can be programmed to automatically adjust to your heating preferences. 

If you’re keeping

After a year of being almost practically entirely cooped up in our homes, it’s easy to fall out of the routine of checks and daily habits that would keep our homes safe and secure in our absence.

At Monster Plumb, we believe that efficiently securing your home doesn’t have to be an expensive, complicated procedure. Instead, we’ve composed a simple crime prevention strategy.

Ensure that your home isn’t deemed as an easy target by reading on for our suggestions on how to prevent your house from break-ins. 

Door Security

Make any possible intruders think twice about trying to enter your home by ensuring that your front door appears visibly secure. 

Update locks and reinforce your doors

Burglars can become familiar with the workings of common locks so having up to date, professionally fitted locks and doors is a way to stay ahead of the game. Plus, a sturdy, well-kept looking door will appear more challenging than a flimsy or weaker appearing door.

Keep keys out of reach 

Leaving

Warmth is a human necessity and something that a large majority of us take for granted. It’s safe to say that we’ve come a long way since the days of rubbing sticks together for heat. Of course, none of this happened overnight. This timeline aims to map out a few of the major advances in the history of heating systems that paved the way for our current technologies. Also whilst we’re on the topic of old heating systems, we’ll be detailing why updating older heating systems is important and the impact this can have on your lifestyle.

Controlled Fire

Our Neanderthal ancestors would have not only had to master the art of generating a flame but develop a way to keep it alive for warmth and cooking. It is assumed that our forefathers would construct fires in caves to shelter the flame, which could be interpreted as an early predecessor of the hearth or fireplace. While this seems very basic in comparison to our advanced heating systems, we should give our ancestors credit where it’s due for

In every home there comes a time to revive the walls with a fresh lick of paint or unravel a new roll of wallpaper. It’s easy to get swept away in the excitement of swatches and colour charts, before eventually arriving at the afterthought of - ‘wait, how do we tackle behind the radiator?’

We’ve composed a guide of nifty hacks, tips and tricks so that there’s no need to contort yourself into strange positions and awkward manoeuvres to work around it. In around 30 minutes you can have your radiator removed from the wall so you can get cracking on with the fun stuff!

Tool Kit Checklist

Picture this - you’ve got the weight of your radiator resting on your shoulder and you can't put your hand on the tool you need. Save the scrambling about and extra stress by giving this checklist a quick look over and keeping your tools laid out or in reaching distance. 

• Radiator Key
• Adjustable Spanner
• Towels and a Sponge
• Shallow Tray (a paint roller tray or old plastic carton are ideal for sliding under

Light nights are creeping in and summer is on the horizon. Despite the unpredictability of British weather, temperatures do generally tend to rise - allowing for less dependence on household heating. Open up your curtains and bask in the sun, whilst saving money on your heating bills at the same time. Win-win!

This leads to thinking, what benefits could come from turning your boiler off completely for the season? Or is that unnecessary? Read on for information on how to implement efficient heating habits into your home this summer.

Should You Switch Your Boiler off Over the Summer?

The long and short of it is, it depends. The first thing to do is to clear up what kind of boiler you currently have installed. If you own an older boiler with a pilot light, it might be worthwhile to switch it off when heating isn’t needed. This is because it will continue to burn gas whilst the pilot light is active. Turning it off entirely will prevent excess energy (and money!) from going to waste. Meanwhile,

Not all smart heating control systems are suited for every lifestyle and home, with some more and less beneficial than others. SMART stands for ‘Self-Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology’, and differs from standard heating controls by allowing you to control every aspect of your heating schedule from either a phone or tablet. Although room thermostats and timers allow you to control each room instead of your whole home, as long as you have internet access, smart home heating devices let you control your heating from your phone, no matter where you are in the world.

Today, we’re running through 7 of the best smart heating thermostats and systems, comparing features, benefits and what type of home they’re most suitable for.

Honeywell T3R 7 Day Programmable Room Thermostat Wireless

Features:

- 7 day, & 5/2 day scheduling with a pre-configured schedule included
- Choice of up to 4 time periods a day
- Minimum On-Time & Cycle Rate settings ensuring compatibility with many boilers
- Table

The past few months have led to many of us spending more time in our homes than ever before, which may have got you thinking about how much room you need. If you’re in need of extra space in your home, you may be considering a house move, although you may not want to leave your current property. Perhaps an extension is on the cards. But this requires planning permission and a hell of a lot of building work. 

Another option is to utilise your loft space. This area isn’t just somewhere to store your Christmas decorations and stuff you no longer use. A loft can be used for so many things. 

One way in which many are using their loft, is to create a bathroom. Whether you want a second bathroom or make more space on the first floor for a bigger bedroom, this is a great use of space that you already have. 

If you are thinking of turning your loft into a bathroom, there’s a few things to consider first. 

Planning Is Key

It’s essential that you plan everything down to the tiniest detail.

Christmas: a time for family, friends, good cheer and unfortunately, burglaries. 

There are sadly many reasons why Christmas time encourages burglaries and break-ins, from storing presents beneath the Christmas tree to empty homes during Christmas shopping trips, the little things we love at Christmas can make us more vulnerable to crime than we think. 

Over the festive period alone, home burglaries increase by an average of 20%, with a usual spike of 25% after the clocks go back in October. 

With such an increase, Christmas is the most important time of the year for home security.

Today, the team at Monster Plumb are sharing our favourite Christmas home security tips to help you keep your family safe this festive season.

Install Smart Home Security

Allowing you to fully protect your home with the latest technology, a smart home security system beats every home security alarm that’s come before it.

Including everything from glass break sensors to smart wireless motion sensors,

Heating of the home is essential during the colder months of the year and is easily delivered through central heating and radiators. But heat loss in the winter is a problem that many of us face here in the UK. It’s an issue that not only affects your wallet but our environment too. So how can you prevent heat loss in the home during those chilly days of winter? 

How Much Heat Is Lost?

Depending on your property, heat loss can differ per household. But according to The Green Age, up to 25% of heat can be lost through your roof, whilst 35% can escape through gaps in walls, windows and doors*.

Where Does It Escape? 

As mentioned above, the most common places for heat to escape from the home are roofs, windows, doors, walls and even through your floors too. 

What Causes Heat Loss?

There are several things which can lead to heat loss. Lack of insulation in walls and the loft, in-proper insulation of boilers and pipes plus damp and condensation can also lead to loss of heat in the home.