With the weather predicted to turn to arctic conditions over the next couple of days, you might want to think about how you can protect your pipes to prevent them from freezing or bursting.
In a recent article from Water UK, the following advice has been given: –
How to avoid …
- Insulate water tanks and lag pipes making sure that there are no gaps in the bends, valves or fittings which are outdoors, or in unheated areas such as your loft or garage.
- Take action now to fix any dripping taps that you may have as even the smallest of drips can result in a frozen pipe.
- Check that your boiler service is up to date, and if not get booked in now before the big freeze comes as your local heating engineers may to too busy once the weather sets in.
- Try and reduce the drafts going into unheated areas of your property, and make sure windows and doors are closed.
- Locate where your stopcock or valve is so that you can turn if off if required
- If you’re going away for any period of time it’s advisable to switch your water off and consider draining your system so that no water remains in your pipes. Of course you’ll need to check your boiler, fridge and other appliance settings if these are connected to your water.
- Keep your heating on a minimum setting so that it switches on automatically when temperatures drop below a certain level.
- If you have a tank or pipes in your loft think about opening the loft hatch every so often to allow for warm are to circulate in that space.
If the worst does happen and you do experience a frozen or burst pipe then Water UK’s advice is to: –
Frozen Pipes
- Turn off your water at your stopcock.
- Identify which pipe has frozen to make sure it’s not burst.
- Using a hot water bottle or towel socked in hot water slowly thaw out the pipe starting from the point nearest to your tap.
- You can also use a hairdryer to do this on it’s lowest heat setting, but you should not use a naked flame or a blowlamp as the thawing process should be done slowly to prevent a burst.
Burst Pipes
- Turn off your water at your stopcock.
- Turn on all your taps to drain your system and to minimise any flooding from the burst pipe.
- Clean up and block off any water that is coming out of the burst pipe to further reduce any freezing or water damage.
- Call out a qualified plumber to come out and fix the broken pipe.
If you are unfortunate to experience any of the above throughout the winter months, then our Heating and Plumbing Engineers are on hand to sort any of your problems out as quickly as possible.
