Avoid Burst Water Pipes with these 6 Winter Safety Tips

After the apocalyptic cold of last winter, insurance companies paid out record sums to cover the cost of damage caused by burst pipes. People returned home from holiday to find their walls, ceilings, floors and possessions ruined by water damage and often had to live elsewhere for months while the mess was sorted out.

Don’t let this happen to you!

Here are 6 tips that may just save you from being driven out of your home and from a whole heap of insurance hassle.

Keep the Heat Up

As soon as you hear that a big freeze is coming, set your central heating to ensure that a constant temperature of between 12-15°C is maintained in your property. This will keep the water warm enough that it should never get anywhere near freezing and therefore out of danger.

Insulation All Round

You know how you wrap up warm in a big jacket in winter to keep your body warm? Well you should be doing the same thing to your pipes when the freeze hits. You can buy insulation from most hardware stores that is specifically cut to go round any pipes that are exposed. You will probably find most of these in your attic or other crawl spaces.

The Loft

If you have a loft hatch then it is important that you leave the hatch open so that warmer air can rise up there and keep the water tank from freezing. Burst water tank = super bad.

Shut It Down

Unless you will be relying on a combi boiler that needs a mains supply, you should probably shut off your water completely at the mains. This means that if any burst does happen, only a limited amount of water will escape.

No Water No Worry

Should you be planning on being away for more than month, then it is certainly worth your while to completely drain your water system. This removes any concerns you might have and could be the best option if your house is hard to insulate or you have a great deal of exposed pipes.

Don’t Panic

If you still happen to come home to find that your pipes are frozen, it is important that you don’t panic and whack the heat up full blast. Take your time and thaw out your pipes using warm water or warm soaked towels. It is also a good idea to get a plumber to check your pipes too just in case something has already cracked.

This article was written by Mario McKenny who is a member of Edinburgh plumbers association. He specialises in boiler repair as well as managing a team of emergency plumbers in Edinburgh.

Keep Reading and Check out these Articles:

1. Town Hall Meeting on Water & Environment Issues on World Water Day
2. Plumbing Contractor
3. What You Should Know About Steam and Hot Water
4. The Solutions to Banging Pipes
5. Controlling Water Penetration in Homes

One Response to “Avoid Burst Water Pipes with these 6 Winter Safety Tips”

1. Suzanne Holt says:

   December 14, 2011 at 7:03 am

   I have never heard of insulation for pipes. That’s pretty cool! Thanks for the info. I will have to look into that.

   Suzanne Holt

   Reply