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30/12/2004
TOO-TOUGH TOILET TISSUE COSTS MILLIONS A YEAR
Modern high-strength toilet tissues are costing our customers over 3 million a year in blocked drains, says Jan Mitman, Director of Drain Doctor Plumbing, the national emergency repair service. The dense structure of some newly launched brands of tissue and wet wipes means they take longer to disintegrate in drains, causing costly blockages.
Tests reveal that different brands of toilet tissue can take from three minutes to five days to disintegrate after being flushed away, said Mrs Mitman. Many households had guests to stay over Christmas, carrying the potential for the New Year to become a festering season with a bumper crop of drain blockages.
As most shoppers know, supermarket own-brand toilet tissue is the fastest to disintegrate, taking as little as three minutes. Extra-strength brands can take from 15 to 25 minutes while wet wipe varieties can survive for up to five days.
Research among our nationwide team of technicians indicates that excessive use of high-strength tissues is responsible for a 10 per cent increase in the number of emergency calls to clear drain blockages, costing UK households over 3 million per year, said Mrs Mitman.
There was a similar increase in blockages a couple of years ago, following which one brand famously changed its specification for the UK market.
Drain Doctor Plumbing is, as always, maintaining its regular 24-hour service throughout the New Year holiday period with free, no obligation call-out and no price increase for working unsocial hours.
Note to editors:
1. Drain Doctor Plumbing introduced unprecedented standards of service in the much-maligned plumbing and drain repair trade when it was launched in 1994. It quickly became the UKs largest 24-hour emergency plumbing and drains repair service and now has over 100 franchise areas covering the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
2. Customers are given timed appointments so that they are not kept waiting for a technician to call; there are no call-out charges and no extras for working unsocial hours; and customers are given fixed-price quotations before work starts so that there are no unwelcome surprises when the bill is presented. Technicians are equipped with high-pressure jetters to clear blocked drains thoroughly and can carry out closed circuit television surveys of drainage systems and no-dig drain repair and relining.
DD1:dc:ep
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23/12/2004
ROBERT'S CLEAN FINISH MEANS 2004 ENDS WITH A PRIZE
Cambridge plumbing and drainage technician Robert Barnes ended 2004 with an award-winning sales performance that gained him not just a trophy but a 600 cheque.
Robert was the winning technician in a national sales competition organised by Drain Doctor Plumbing, the UK's largest emergency plumbing and drains repair service.
When they have been called out to clear a blocked drain the company's technicians offer customers advice on preventing future blockages - including recommending the use of an enzyme-based cleaner.
Right up until the final week of the year Rob had sold roughly the same number of bottles of cleaner as colleagues in Harlow and Lancaster, making it a neck-and-neck finish for the competition. Then, just days before Christmas, Rob sold 75 bottles to a single customer - as many bottles as he would normally expect to sell in a couple of weeks.
He explained: "We were called to clean out the drains at a major food processor which has to ensure it meets the very highest standards of hygiene. The company called on Drain Doctor because it was unhappy with the reliability of its previous drainage contractor.
"Once we had brought the drains up to standard we recommended the use of the enzyme to ensure that they stay that way - and the size of the factory made it a 75 bottle sale."
The Drain Doctor micro-biological enzyme cleaner digests organic wastes in drains, breaking down deposits which lead to odours and blockages. It is sold in one-litre bottles for normal household use.
Rob Barnes' sales competition win came at the end of a good year for Drain Doctor's Cambridge franchisee. Like Drain Doctor operations throughout the rest of the UK it is an independent business owned and operated by a local entrepreneur.
The man behind the Cambridge Drain Doctor franchise is David Spurrier. He started the business early in 2004 with just one technician and a single van. He then took on a second technician and a second van. He will shortly have four technicians operating from four vans and is already planning further expansion.
Rob Barnes will take on an increasingly key role as technician manager, responsible for ensuring that the vans are properly equipped and that the technicians operate to Drain Doctor standards of quality.
He will also soon have new responsibilities as a father - his first child is due to be born shortly. He said: "The 600 cheque for winning this competition could not have come at a better time!"
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22/12/2004
EXTREME WEATHER PROMPTS DAVID TO LAUNCH DRAIN DOCTOR PLUMBING BUSINESS
The increasing incidence of extreme weather changes has prompted Newcastle businessman David Ayton to launch a new 24-hour Drain Doctor Plumbing service proving that every cloud has a silver lining.
David, 37, believes repeated dry spells and torrential rainfall are triggering ground movement, which is causing widespread damage to drainage systems serving commercial and residential properties.
He already employs 13 people in his 1st Property Services maintenance company and now he is acquiring the Drain Doctor Plumbing franchise for the Newcastle area to offer round-the-clock plumbing and drainage repairs.
We are increasingly being called out to repair property damage caused by ground-heave when dry spells followed by heavy rain damages drainage and plumbing systems, said David, whose company is based at Newcastles Airport Industrial Estate.
The situation can only become worse, which means owners and occupiers of commercial and residential properties will need a reliable, professional repair service. We already work for many insurance companies and national retail outlets so this is a natural extension of my existing business.
David, who has been running 1st Property Services for three years, said the exceptional standards of customer service that underlies Drain Doctor Plumbing philosophy was a big influence in his decision.
People are genuinely worried by builder from hell horror stories and fear that they will end up paying exorbitant rates for unsatisfactory work when they need a tradesman, he said.
However, the Drain Doctor philosophy is different. There are no call-out charges, customers are given timed appointments and fixed price quotes before technicians start work and all work is guaranteed. Technicians even use work-mats and plastic boot covers to protect furnishings and floor coverings.
Technicians can carry out closed circuit television surveys to identify the cause of drainage problems and are trained in modern no-dig re-lining and repair techniques.
David originally worked as a welder with a Darlington-based heavy engineering company for 12 years and then qualified to become a divisional accountant with a building management firm before setting up 1st Property Services in 2002. His wife, Lisa, is a pharmacist and they have two young children, Lewis, 18 months, and Emily, two months.
Drain Doctor Plumbing is the UKs largest emergency plumbing and drain repair business with over 105 franchise areas covering the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It was a finalist in the 2003 Franchise of the Year competition and is registered under the UK governments Quality Mark Approved scheme, which aims to protect householders from unscrupulous tradesmen.
Drain Doctor Plumbing 0800 056 3161.
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