Protecting your home from cold weather  

When the weather becomes very cold, the water pipes in your home can freeze.  This can lead to a burst pipe in the thaw, which can cause a lot of damage to your home and your belongings.  We wish to offer some advice on how you might minimise any disruption but it is your responsibility to insure your home and its contents. We would recommend you consider the following as best practice: 

Tips to prevent frost damage 

If your central heating uses oil, make sure you have plenty of oil in the oil tank (some oil companies offer saving stamp schemes to help you budget for the cost of your oil or you may be eligible for a loan from DHSS for a first time fill of oil)

If your central heating uses gas on a pre-payment meter, make sure you have plenty of units in credit; Leave your central heating on for short periods of time throughout the day and night.  You can set the boiler control/thermostat settings low enough to provide background heat through the property to avoid frozen pipes without using too much oil or gas

Let warm air into your roofspace by keeping the trap door open

Keep the cupboard door open under the sink

Keep room doors slightly open to allow warm air to circulate around the house

In the event of an emergency, make sure you know where the mains water stop valve in your house is located

You should also make sure you keep handy the contact details of a suitable plumber. 

If your pipes freeze turn the water supply off at the stopcock. Try to thaw the pipe, starting from the end nearest the tap, by putting hot water bottles or thick cloths soaked in hot water over the frozen pipe.  You could also use an electric hairdryer at its lowest setting.  Be careful not to warm the pipe too quickly or it may burst.  Do not use a blow lamp or any naked flame. 

If a pipe bursts turn off the stopcock by turning it clockwise. Try to block the escaping water with towels or other thick cloths. Turn off your central heating, immersion heater and any other water heating systems.  If your central heating uses solid fuel, let this die out. Once you have shut down your water heating, turn on all your taps to drain the system.  Flushing your toilet several times will also help. If water leaks near anything electrical, switch off the mains electricity immediately.  If the mains switch is wet, do not touch it as you risk electrocution! If water has been leaking for some time and ceilings are bulging, it may not be safe to enter rooms.  If you notice the leak quickly, you can catch dripping water in buckets.  If the ceiling has just started to bulge, you could punch a small hole in it with a screwdriver to release the water. Do not forget to turn off your taps once the problem is fixed! 

Do you know where your stopcock is? The stopcock is a valve for turning off and on the cold water system in your home.  You shut the supply off by turning the stopcock in a clockwise direction: you turn it back on again by turning the stopcock in an anti-clockwise direction.The stopcock will usually be in your kitchen, below the sink unit.  However, it may be in a front or back hall or in a larder unit beside the sink unit.  Make sure you know where the stopcock is and that it works properly! 

If your water supply is cut off at the mains, it will affect your heating system. If the water supply is cut off but your cold water storage tank is full, it is still safe to run your central heating.  However, do not use your hot water, as you risk running the storage tank dry and creating an airlock.  If your cold water storage tank has run dry, do not use your central heating or your hot water as this could cause your hot water cylinder to collapse.

Important general information  

Do not use your washing machine, dishwater or the chilled water dispenser sometimes found in American style fridge freezers.

Do not use your immersion heater – you can burn it out if it is not completely covered by water.

Remember, it is your responsibility to insure your home and its contents.

Any heating system not used during freezing conditions runs the risk of pipes bursting.