expat-plumber

Low Boiler Pressure? How to Top Up Your CV Ketel

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:15:56 GMT

You go to take a shower and there's no hot water. Or the radiators won't warm up and there's a warning light on the boiler. Nine times out of ten in a Dutch home, the culprit is the same: low water pressure in your CV ketel .

The good news? This is one of the few plumbing problems you can usually fix yourself in about five minutes. Here's exactly how — and when it's a sign to call someone instead.

How to tell it's a pressure problem

Every CV ketel has a pressure gauge — either a round dial or a digital reading on the front panel. Check the number when the system is cold:

Below 1.0 bar — too low. This is why you've lost heat or hot water.
1.0–2.0 bar — the healthy range. Aim for around 1.5 bar cold.
Above 2.5 bar — too high. Don't top up (see below).

Many boilers also flash a low-pressure warning or an error code when the pressure drops too far.

How to top up your boiler: the filling loop

Under or beside the boiler you'll find the vulkraan — the filling loop. It's usually a grey or silver braided hose with a tap or valve at each end, connected to your cold water supply.

Make sure the boiler is switched off and cold .
Open both valves slowly. You'll hear water flowing in.
Watch the gauge climb. When it reaches 1.5 bar, close both valves .
Turn the boiler back on. Your heat and hot water should return within a few minutes.

Go slowly — it's easy to overshoot. If you do, there's usually a small bleed valve on a radiator you can use to let a little pressure back out.

Living on an upper floor? Why your boiler won't fill past a certain point

Here's something that catches a lot of people out in Amsterdam's apartments. The filling loop is fed by your cold mains water — and mains pressure drops the higher up you go. As a rule of thumb, you lose roughly 1 bar of pressure for every 10 metres of height above the street.

That matters because you can't fill a sealed heating system any higher than the mains pressure available at your tap. On the third or fourth floor, the incoming pressure may only be a little above your target. So the gauge fills slowly, and it may simply stall at around 1.2–1.5 bar and refuse to climb any further, no matter how long you leave the loop open.

If that's happening to you, you're not doing anything wrong — you've just hit the ceiling of what the mains can deliver at that height. If the system won't hold or reach a safe working pressure, that's the point to stop and get it checked properly.

When topping up isn't enough

Topping up once or twice a year is completely normal. But if you're refilling every week, something else is going on — usually a small leak in the system, a failing expansion vessel, or a faulty pressure valve. That's not a DIY job.

The same applies if the pressure is stuck too high and won't come down, if you can't find the filling loop at all, or if it won't reach a safe pressure because of low mains supply on an upper floor.

When to call Your English Plumber

If topping up doesn't hold, or you'd rather not touch the boiler yourself, we'll sort it — in plain English, no translation app required. We cover Amsterdam and the surrounding area for boiler pressure faults, leaks, and full CV ketel servicing, with call-outs from €129 incl. VAT .

Not sure whether it's a pressure issue or something else? Read our guide to common CV ketel error codes and what they mean.

How to Spot a Hidden Water Leak Before It Wrecks Your Home

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:23:52 GMT

Most water leaks don't announce themselves with a dramatic burst and a flooded floor. The expensive ones are quiet. They run for weeks or months behind a wall, under a floor, or inside a ceiling void — slowly soaking plaster, feeding mould, and quietly inflating your water bill. By the time the damage is visible, the repair is rarely just a plumbing job anymore; it's plumbing plus plastering plus paint.

The good news is that hidden leaks almost always leave clues before they cause real harm. If you know what to look for, you can catch one early and keep a €129 call-out from turning into a four-figure renovation. Here's what every household in the Netherlands should keep an eye on.

1. Your Water Bill Climbs for No Reason

Your usage habits don't change much month to month, so your water bill shouldn't either. A sudden, unexplained jump is one of the clearest signs that water is escaping somewhere you can't see. Even a leak you could cover with a fingertip can waste hundreds of litres a day when it runs around the clock.

There's a simple test you can do yourself. Turn off every tap and water-using appliance in the house, then check your water meter. Note the reading, wait an hour without using any water, and check again. If the numbers have moved, water is flowing somewhere — and that somewhere is almost always a leak.

2. Damp Patches, Stains, and That Musty Smell

Discolouration on a wall or ceiling — a yellowish ring, a darker patch, paint that bubbles or peels — is water finding its way out of where it belongs. These stains often appear some distance from the actual leak, because water travels along beams and pipes before it surfaces, which is exactly why tracing a leak is harder than it looks.

Your nose is a good early detector too. A persistent musty or earthy smell in a room, a cupboard, or near the floor usually means moisture has been sitting somewhere long enough for mould to take hold. If a space smells damp even after you've aired it out, treat that as a warning rather than a quirk.

3. Low Pressure, Running Sounds, and Warm Spots

If your shower or taps have lost their usual force, a leak upstream could be bleeding off pressure before the water reaches you. It's not always the cause of low pressure, but combined with any of the other signs here, it's worth taking seriously.

Sound is another giveaway. If you can hear running or trickling water when every tap is closed — especially in the quiet of the evening — pay attention to where it's loudest. And on heating pipes, an unusually warm patch on a floor or wall can point to a hot-water leak hiding underneath the surface.

4. What to Do the Moment You Suspect a Leak

First, find your main shut-off valve and know how to close it — it's usually near your water meter, by the front door, or in a utility cupboard. Shutting off the supply stops the damage spreading while you sort out the next step, and it's the single most useful thing you can do in the first five minutes.

Next, resist the urge to start opening up walls. Pinpointing a hidden leak without the right equipment usually means tearing out far more than necessary and still missing the source. We use camera inspection (CCTV) to trace leaks and blockages inside pipes and cavities, so we find the exact problem before anything gets opened up — which keeps both the repair and the mess to a minimum.

Have you noticed any of these signs in your home recently? Catching a leak in week one instead of month three is the difference between a quick fix and a renovation.

Don't Wait for the Ceiling to Give Way

Hidden leaks reward people who act early and punish people who hope it'll sort itself out. If your bill has crept up, a wall feels damp, or something just smells off, it's worth getting it checked before the damage becomes the expensive part. A short inspection now is always cheaper than the plastering and painting later.

Your English Plumber is an English-speaking team serving expats across the Randstad — Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Den Haag, Utrecht and beyond. We respond within two hours, charge from €129 incl. VAT, and back our work with a one-month guarantee. Spotted something? Call us on 06-24356980 and we'll take a look before it gets worse.

5 Things That Are Quietly Blocking Your Drains Right Now

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 17:06:39 GMT

Most people blame hair or cooking grease when a drain starts running slow. And sure — those don't help. But the calls we get most often involve something the homeowner genuinely didn't see coming. Here are five things that cause blocked drains far more often than people realise, and what to do about each of them.

1. Coffee Grounds

This surprises almost everyone. Coffee grounds feel small and fine, so rinsing them down the kitchen sink seems harmless. It isn't.

Unlike most organic matter, coffee grounds don't dissolve in water. They're heavy, they clump together when wet, and they settle at the lowest point in your pipe — typically inside the U-bend beneath your sink. Once they're sitting there, they act like a net: every bit of grease, soap scum and food debris that follows sticks to them, and the blockage grows quickly from there.

Plumbers consistently rank coffee grounds among the top causes of kitchen sink blockages. The fix is simple: tip them into the bin or compost. Takes five seconds. Saves you a call-out.

2. "Flushable" Wipes

The label says flushable. The label is wrong.

Unlike toilet paper, which is specifically designed to break down rapidly in water, wet wipes — even ones marketed as flushable — are reinforced with fibres that don't disintegrate in your pipes or the sewer system. Water UK reports 300,000 sewer blockages per year in the United Kingdom alone, with wipes named as a leading cause. The pattern is the same across Europe.

What actually happens when you flush a wipe: it travels through your pipes, snags on any rough spot or existing debris, and starts collecting everything that comes after it. Combined with fats and grease, they form what engineers call "fatbergs" — solid masses that can block an entire pipe. Thames Water alone clears over 75,000 blockages annually at a cost of around £40 million, with wipes a major contributing factor.

Bin them. All of them. Regardless of what the packaging says.

3. Rice and Pasta

You'd think a few stray grains of rice down the plughole would be no big deal. The problem is what happens next.

Rice, pasta and other starchy foods expand with water, creating a glue-like substance that clings to the inside of pipes. Raw rice absorbs moisture and swells. Cooked pasta continues to absorb water long after it's been plated. Both sink to the bottom of your drain pipe and stay there, building up over time into a dense, sticky mass that narrows the pipe and slows everything behind it.

This is one of the reasons kitchen drains in homes with a lot of cooking tend to block more frequently than others. Use a sink strainer to catch food scraps before they make it into the pipe, and scrape plates into the bin rather than rinsing them straight under the tap.

4. Liquid Soap in Large Amounts

This one genuinely catches people off guard. Soap is supposed to clean things, including your pipes. So how does it cause a blockage?

On its own, liquid soap draining away is fine. The issue is volume and what it combines with. When used in large amounts, liquid soap goes down the drain and clumps together with hair and other debris, forming a thick, gooey mass that builds up inside the pipe. In hard water areas — which includes most of the Netherlands — soap also reacts with the calcium in the water to form soap scum: a chalky residue that sticks to pipe walls and accumulates over time.

This shows up most often in bathroom sinks and showers. If your bathroom sink is running slow and you can't see a hair blockage, soap scum build-up is a very likely culprit.

5. Eggshells

Eggshells seem too light and brittle to cause real trouble. They're not.

Eggshells don't decompose quickly and can stick to the sides of pipes, creating a layer that traps everything else passing through. Crushed eggshell creates a granular, gritty waste that combines with grease and coffee grounds to form a particularly stubborn type of blockage — harder to shift than a simple hair clog and often requiring professional equipment to clear properly.

The bin is the right destination for eggshells. Every time.

When It's Already Blocked

If your drain is running slow, that's an early warning — a partial blockage that's growing. Don't wait until it stops entirely.

Avoid chemical drain cleaners. They're harsh on older pipes and rarely solve the underlying problem; they typically just dissolve the surface layer of a blockage and let it reform further along. A professional drain clear uses mechanical equipment to remove the blockage completely, not just push it down the line.

Your English Plumber covers drain unblocking across the Netherlands — Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Den Haag, Haarlem, Leiden and more — from €129 including VAT , available 24/7, on-site within 2 hours.

Drain running slow? Call 06-24356980 or WhatsApp us before it stops completely.

Boiler Error Codes Explained: What to Do When Your CV Ketel Shows an Error

Mon, 25 May 2026 13:16:33 GMT

Your boiler has stopped and there's a code flashing on the display. It could be E1, F7, A-03 — something that means nothing to you at 7am on a cold morning. The good news: most boiler error codes in the Netherlands are not serious. Many can be resolved in minutes without calling anyone. This guide explains what the most common codes mean, what you can safely try yourself, and when it's time to call a plumber.

How Boiler Error Codes Work

Modern CV ketels (central heating boilers) have built-in diagnostics that detect faults and lock the boiler to prevent damage. When something goes wrong, the boiler displays a code and shuts down — a safety feature, not a failure. The most common brands in Dutch homes are Intergas, Nefit, Remeha, Vaillant, and HR Kombi. Each brand uses its own code system, so the same problem might show as "E3" on one brand and "F22" on another.

Before calling a plumber, it's always worth doing a basic reset. On most boilers, you hold the reset button for 3–5 seconds. If the boiler fires up and runs normally, you're done. If it locks out again within the hour, the underlying cause needs to be found.

The Most Common Error Codes — and What They Mean

No hot water or heating / boiler won't fire
Brands: Intergas E1, Nefit E2, Vaillant F22, Remeha E118
This usually means low water pressure. Check the pressure gauge on the front of your boiler — it should sit between 1.5 and 2 bar when cold. If it's below 1 bar, you need to top up the system. There's a filling loop (a small silver or grey handle) connected to your boiler. Open it slowly until the pressure reaches 1.5 bar, then close it again. Reset the boiler. This is one of the most common calls we get — and the easiest fix.

Ignition failure / boiler clicks but won't light
Brands: Intergas E2, Nefit E3, Vaillant F28, Remeha E117
The boiler is trying to ignite but failing. This can happen after the gas has been off (roadworks, meter work), or if there's air in the gas line. Try resetting 2–3 times. If it still won't light, check that other gas appliances in your home work — if your hob has no gas either, the problem is with the supply, not the boiler. Call your gas provider. If the hob works fine but the boiler won't ignite, call a plumber.

Flue or ventilation fault
Brands: Vaillant F61, Remeha E110, Nefit E9
This means the boiler can't safely exhaust combustion gases. The flue pipe (usually going through an outside wall) may be blocked — by a bird's nest, debris, or ice in very cold weather. Check if anything is blocking the external vent. Never attempt to clean or modify the flue yourself. If it looks clear but the code persists, call a certified engineer.

Overheating / high temperature fault
Brands: Intergas E5, Vaillant F75, Nefit E5, Remeha E119
The boiler has detected unusually high temperatures and shut down to protect itself. This often points to a circulation problem — a pump that isn't moving water properly, or a radiator system with a lot of air in it. Try bleeding your radiators (use a radiator key to open the bleed valve slightly until water comes out steadily, then close). If the error returns, the pump may need to be checked by a plumber.

Sensor or circuit board fault
Brands: Various — typically shown as F3, E6, A-04, or similar
If the error code doesn't match any of the above and a reset doesn't help, it's likely an internal sensor or electronic fault. These can't be diagnosed or fixed without the right equipment. Call a plumber — don't keep resetting, as repeated lockouts on a faulty sensor can mask a more serious problem.

What You Can Safely Do Yourself

Top up the water pressure, bleed your radiators, check the gas supply, and reset the boiler once or twice. That covers the majority of error codes that come up in everyday use. Beyond that — anything involving the gas connection, the flue, the pump, or internal components — needs a certified professional. In the Netherlands, gas work must be carried out by a recognised installer (erkend installateur). Your English Plumber's engineers are fully certified and work across Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Den Haag, and surrounding areas.

Still Seeing an Error Code? We Can Help.

Tell us the brand of your boiler and the code on the display, and we'll tell you straight away whether it's something you can fix or whether we need to come out. We're available 24/7 — including evenings and weekends — and typically on-site within 2 hours.

�� Call 06-24356980 — available 24/7
�� WhatsApp: wa.me/31624356980

Blocked Drain or Blocked Sewer? Here's How to Tell

Tue, 05 May 2026 13:29:05 GMT

If something isn't draining in your home, the first question is simple: is it one drain, or everything at once? The answer tells you whether you have a blocked drain or a blocked sewer — and that determines what the fix involves, how urgent it is, and what it will cost.

What's the difference between a drain and a sewer?

A drain is the pipe connected to a single fixture, your kitchen sink, shower, toilet or bathtub. A sewer line is the main pipe that collects wastewater from all of those drains and carries it out to the municipal connection under the street.

If one drain is slow or blocked, the problem is in that specific pipe. If multiple drains are affected at the same time, the blockage is almost certainly deeper in the main sewer line running out of your home.

Signs you have a blocked drain

One sink, shower or toilet is slow or not draining at all
The problem is isolated to a single room
No bad smell coming from other fixtures in the house
A plunger gives temporary relief

Common causes: hair and soap build-up in shower drains, grease in kitchen drains, or something flushed down the toilet that shouldn't be there. A blocked drain is the simpler fix — usually cleared within the hour using a drain snake or high-pressure jet.

From €129 incl. VAT · On-site within 2 hours

Signs you have a blocked sewer

Multiple drains backing up at the same time
Flushing the toilet causes water to rise in the shower or bathtub
Gurgling sounds from the toilet when you run the kitchen tap
Sewage smell coming from more than one point in the house
Water pooling outside near the drain well in the garden

A blocked sewer is more serious and will not fix itself. The longer you leave it, the worse and more expensive the damage gets.

What causes a blocked sewer in the Netherlands?

Dutch sewer systems particularly in older homes and apartments are prone to a few specific problems:

Grease and fat built up over years of cooking and washing
Tree root ingress — roots grow into older clay or concrete pipes and cause blockages or cracks
Foreign objects — wipes, sanitary products, paper towels
Collapsed or cracked pipe sections — common in pre-1980s properties across the Netherlands

Can you fix it yourself?

A blocked drain: sometimes. A plunger or basic drain snake from the hardware store can clear minor blockages.

A blocked sewer: no. You need professional high-pressure jetting equipment to properly clear a main sewer line. Trying to force a blockage without knowing what's causing it or where it is can make things significantly worse and potentially damage the pipe.

What does a professional fix involve?

For a blocked drain : we clear it with a drain snake or high-pressure jet, then check water flow afterwards to confirm the blockage is fully resolved not just temporarily shifted.

For a blocked sewer : we locate the blockage, clear it with high-pressure jetting, and use a camera inspection if there's any sign of root ingress or structural damage. We show you the footage and explain what we found before recommending any further work.

All work comes with a 1-month warranty — if the blockage returns within 30 days, we fix it for free.

How much does it cost?

Drain unblocking starts from €129 incl. VAT . Sewer line clearing is quoted on-site after diagnosis — we never start work without giving you a clear price first. No call-out fee surprises.

Not sure what you're dealing with? Call us.

Your English Plumber is operated by RRD Service & Installatie, based in Amsterdam with local technicians across the Netherlands. With 20+ years of experience, we're on-site within 2 hours — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Describe what you're seeing and we'll tell you what it sounds like before we even arrive.

�� Call 06-24356980 — available 24/7
�� WhatsApp: wa.me/31624356980