Like a main home, maintenance of a holiday home is crucial to ensure that it remains safe and undamaged, especially during the winter months. Due to the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, many homeowners are opting to carry out essential maintenance themselves.

TikTok searches for ‘home maintenance tips’ have risen by a staggering 3,700 percent in the past 12 months, suggesting homeowners are increasingly seeking DIY maintenance advice.

Holiday home insurance specialists, Intasure, a Gallagher company, has reviewed viral home maintenance TikTok videos to determine if these hacks are beneficial or could cause damage to a property and invalidate the homeowners’ insurance.

Unblocking gutters: Safe

A TikTok creator, amassed 77.2 thousand views in a video showing viewers how to clear leaves and debris from their gutters. Instead of risking a potential injury by climbing ladders, the video demonstrates how using a garden hose or leaf blower attachment can help clear guttering.

Gutters help to protect the structure of your home by allowing rainwater to channel into the drains. Holiday homeowners should be advised that if they do not regularly clean their gutters, this can lead to dampness and pest infestations inside their homes. Intasure recommends regular gutter maintenance by investing in tools suggested in the video or consulting a specialist to clear them. If any major damage is caused by poor upkeep of gutters, this can prevent your home’s waterproofing systems from working as well as they should. This could lead to an insurer rejecting a claim, leaving homeowners having to foot the cost of any necessary repairs.

Carrying Out Maintenance on a Boiler: Avoid

The cold weather can cause boilers to lose pressure as the pipes leading from the boiler may freeze and cause a blockage. A TikTok creator showed viewers what to do if their boiler loses pressure in a video that has amassed 144.1 thousand views. Holiday homeowners are advised not to tamper with their boiler as this could lead to further, more serious damages. To claim holiday home insurance for a boiler issue, homeowners may need to prove that it has been serviced by a professional in the past year. Additionally, homeowners should check their policy wording for any heating conditions and warranties that they should comply with during the winter months.

Intasure advises that holiday homeowners should contact a plumber when experiencing any issue with their boiler. Even if they think that the issue could be a simple fix, it is not worth risking causing more damage in the long run and invalidating the home’s insurance.

Unblocking a Drain: Safe, With Caution

Blocked drains can occur when there becomes a build-up of food and oil in the drainage pipes, making a sink unusable. Each month, there are 17,000 UK searches on TikTok for ‘how to unblock a drain.’ One video in particular has amounted 561.4 thousand views, showing viewers how to unclog their under the sink drain. If the blockage seems simple to fix and can be rectified by unscrewing the U-bend waste pipe, then this can be carried out without a professional. However, if the blockage is more serious, it is best to let a professional fix it. If the homeowner ends up making the blockage worse or damaging a component of the plumbing, this could lead to the holiday home insurance being invalid.  Intasure advises holiday homeowners to check with their insurer if a drain blockage results from an unexpected event like a burst pipe or sewer backup to see if it’s covered.

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Repairing a Window: Avoid

Issues with a window can occur at any time of the year, whether that be a crack or there is a fault with the window’s mechanism. There are 19 million TikTok’s covering ‘DIY broken window fix.’ One video in particular gained 237.1 thousand views, with the creator showing viewers how to open a window that has a faulty handle. Viewers are shown how to open and close a window by sticking a card into the handle to release the catch.

Intasure advises people not to follow this advice and instead contact a professional as soon as a window stops opening or closing properly. Tampering with a window could invalidate a homeowners’ insurance, as it may deteriorate the mechanism over time and prevent it from closing. Without evidence of forced entry, a faulty window can invalidate the claim, as there is no proof that the home was fully secured.

Repairing burst pipes: Avoid

During cold weather, water pipes are more likely to burst as water freezes and thaws, causing the pipe to crack. If a holiday home will be unoccupied for a long period in winter, the homeowner should consider turning off the water to prevent pipe damage.

With almost 80 million videos on TikTok offering ‘water pipe repair’ advice, one particular video has amassed 179.1 thousand views showing viewers how to fix a burst water pipe. It is advised to turn off the stopcock immediately if a burst pipe is discovered, however, homeowners should seek professional help from a plumber rather than attempting repairs. By carrying out repairs on the pipe themself, the homeowner risks damaging the plumbing further and causing a more serious issue.

Andy Hale, Holiday Home Specialist at Intasure commented: “Carrying out maintenance on a holiday home is encouraged to ensure that the building is kept in working order and no unexpected damages occur, especially over the colder months.

TikTok maintenance advice might seem simple, but these videos should be approached with caution, as many are not beginner-friendly and require skilled tradespeople.

In fact, the homeowner could risk causing greater damage to their property when attempting to fix plumbing or boiler issues, for example. This damage may not be covered by their holiday home insurance policy, leaving the homeowner out of pocket for damage that they have caused.

If a homeowner is unsure on what maintenance is safe to carry out themselves it is best to seek professional advice and guidance.”

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