Winter Advice

In recent times, home owners have become more aware of energy saving procedurees and preventative meaures, therefore frozen pipes and burst pipes are less common than they used to be. However, in exceptionally cold spells, or if adequate care is not taken, problems can arise. Should you suffer from frozen pipes or water supply, get in touch with us straight away. Also :

• Water Supply: Locate your water stop-cock / shut off valve. Do this in advance of the winter to make things easier should problems occur!
• Preventing Frozen Pipes: Frozen and burst water pipes in properties cause inconvenience and heartache to thousands of people and can result in costly damage to buildings and furnishings. There are precautions that can be taken to help avoid these problems:-
  • Find your main stop-cock valve which turns off the supply to your property.
  • Some buildings may have a direct supply to all your appliances or from a water storage tank, normally located in the loft. If so, the controlling stop-valves are often situated close to the tank. Make sure you are aware of all stop-cock valves and what they control.
  • Where properties have hot water cylinders or tanks, the supply can be controlled by a stop-valve which is usually located in the cupboard on the pipe which connects near the bottom of the cylinder. This stop-valve only controls the supply to the cylinder and does not empty it. Do not attempt to empty the cylinder or undertake any plumbing or pipework without getting in touch with us.
  • Un-insulated pipes exposed to freezing temperatures are likely to become blocked with ice. This commonly occurs in cold un-insulated lofts. You may not be aware of the problem until the water refuses to flow when you turn on the tap. Prevention is better than cure, and often cheaper! Therefore if you think that your loft space is not insulated then get your pipes lagged efficiently and insulate your loft space.
  • Have exposed pipework insulated properly - remember garages and outdoor taps. Also make sure your main water storage tank is fully insulated.
  • Make sure dripping taps and overflows are repaired.
  • Keep central heating on through the night, even if only on a minimal setting.
  • If you are away from your property and leaving it unoccupied, leave the central heating system on a low setting, program the timer to come on for short periods of time at a reasonably warm setting. Remember to set this for your hot water as well as the heating system.

• If your pipes burst, shut-off the water at the stop-valve and open all taps to drain the system quickly. Isolate the power to immersion heaters, showers and heating systems so as there is no further damage to the system. Contact us straight away.