From Victorian terraces near the town centre to modern estates in Maidenbower, Crawley’s housing stock throws up the same plumbing complaints again and again. Here are the seven we see most — what causes each one, whether you can fix it yourself, and when it’s time to call a professional.
1. Dripping Taps
The cause: Usually a worn washer or a damaged ceramic disc cartridge inside the tap. Hard water — common across West Sussex — speeds up the wear.
DIY or call? DIY, if you’re handy. Replacing a washer is a ten-minute job with a basic toolkit and a part that costs a few pounds. If the drip persists after a new washer, or the tap is a modern mixer with a sealed cartridge, a plumber will sort it quickly. Either way, don’t ignore it — a dripping tap can waste thousands of litres a year. Read our full guide to dripping tap causes and fixes.
2. Leaking Pipes
The cause: Corrosion in older copper pipework, loose compression joints, frost damage, or physical knocks. Crawley’s older properties with original pipework are most at risk.
DIY or call? Call. A weeping joint might look minor, but water finds its way into walls, under floors, and into electrics. If the leak is hidden — damp patches, musty smells, unexplained meter readings — you need proper leak detection to find it before it does real damage. See our guide on spotting leaking pipes early.
3. Blocked Drains
The cause: In kitchens, it’s fat, oil and food waste solidifying in the pipe. In bathrooms, hair and soap scum. Outside, tree roots and collapsed sections of old clay drains are common culprits in Crawley’s older streets.
DIY or call? Try a plunger first — it clears simple blockages. What you shouldn’t do is pour chemical drain cleaner down and hope; it can damage pipes and makes professional clearing harder and more hazardous. If the plunger doesn’t work, or multiple drains are affected (a sign the blockage is in the main line), call a plumber. Our blocked drains guide covers it in detail.
4. Running Toilets
The cause: Almost always the cistern internals — a worn flapper or seal letting water leak into the bowl, or a faulty fill valve that never shuts off.
DIY or call? Usually DIY. Cistern parts are cheap and widely available, and most can be swapped with basic tools. Turn off the toilet’s isolation valve first. If the cistern is old, cracked, or the fittings are corroded solid, a plumber can replace the internals in under an hour. Details in our running toilet guide.
5. Low Water Pressure
The cause: Limescale build-up in pipes and shower heads (very common in hard-water areas like Crawley), a partially closed stopcock, a failing pressure regulator, or — in older homes — corroded galvanised pipes narrowing from the inside.
DIY or call? Start DIY: check the stopcock is fully open and clean or replace clogged shower heads and tap aerators. If pressure is low at every outlet, or it dropped suddenly, that’s a job for a plumber — it could indicate a leak or a supply problem. More in our guide to low water pressure causes.
6. Burst and Frozen Pipes
The cause: Water expands when it freezes, and the pressure splits the pipe — usually in uninsulated lofts, garages, or outside walls during cold snaps. The flood often happens when the ice thaws, not while it’s frozen.
DIY or call? Call — this is an emergency. Your job is damage control: shut off the water (see how to turn off your water supply) and follow our burst pipe emergency steps. Prevention is far cheaper than cure: read how to prevent and thaw frozen pipes before winter arrives.
7. Boiler and Heating Problems
The cause: Everything from low pressure and faulty thermostats to failed pumps, diverter valves, and heat exchangers. Cold radiators, strange noises, and pilot lights that won’t stay lit are the classic warning signs.
DIY or call? You can safely repressurise a boiler and bleed radiators yourself. Anything involving opening the boiler casing is legally restricted to Gas Safe registered engineers — don’t touch it. Watch for the warning signs your boiler needs attention and act early; winter breakdowns are the most expensive kind.
Simple Habits That Prevent Most of These Problems
A little routine maintenance goes a long way. Bleed your radiators once a year before winter so trapped air doesn’t strain the boiler. Don’t pour fat or oil down the kitchen sink — wipe pans with kitchen roll and bin it. Clean shower heads and tap aerators every few months to stop limescale strangling your water pressure. Insulate any exposed pipes in the loft, garage, and outside walls before the first frost; it’s the cheapest insurance against a burst pipe you’ll ever buy. And once a year, turn your stopcock off and back on so it doesn’t seize when you need it most.
Work through our winter plumbing checklist each autumn and you’ll head off the seasonal problems — frozen pipes, boiler breakdowns, and pressure issues — before they start.
The Pattern Worth Noticing
Five of these seven problems share one thing: they start small and get expensive when ignored. A weeping joint becomes a ruined ceiling. A slow drain becomes a sewage backup. A stiff stopcock becomes a flood you can’t stop. The cheapest plumbing job is always the early one.
That’s also why knowing when to call an emergency plumber matters — and what emergency plumbing costs in Crawley before you ever need it.
Dealing with any of these right now? Plumb Buster covers Crawley, Horsham, Horley and East Grinstead — open 24 hours for emergencies on 07908 948654. Browse our full plumbing services, read about us, or get in touch to book a visit.
