No heating or hot water in your home?
If you suddenly find you have no heating or hot water in the winter months, it may be that you have a frozen outlet pipe.
Watch this short step-by-step guide to looking after your frozen pipes at home.
Before cold weather sets in it's important to get your home winter ready.
Follow this handy guide to keep you and your family warm and safe at home this winter.
- We recommend that you locate the main stop tap in your home and know how to turn it off, it's also a good idea to make sure you know how to turn off your electricity and gas supply in case of an emergency. Ask our staff or contractors if you are unsure.
- Plug any gaps where there are drafts around doors to help stop heat escaping.
- Check exterior outlet pipes for leaks and report to us as soon as possible. Watch the Quick Fic video on the left for a step-by-step guide.
- If you’re leaving the property for an extended period of time, turn off your stop tap and open the hot and cold taps so that any water can drain away.
- If you have an external tap, turn off the water supply to it (it should have its own stop tap) and open the tap so that any water can drain away.
- If your radiators are cold at the top and warm at the bottom, bleed the radiator using a radiator key in the vent point at the top side of the radiator. Turn the key anti-clockwise until you can hear a hissing sound (usually half a turn). When the air has come out tighten the vent (do not take the vent out completely or it will leak). Please ensure the pressure on your boiler is kept at 1 bar if you are bleeding your radiators - contact us if you are unsure.
- In cold weather turn the heating down to 15 degrees overnight to minimise chances of the pipes freezing.
- Check your boiler pressure regularly and maintain the pressure at 1 bar when cold.
What to do if your pipes freeze...
- Turn the water off at the main stop tap so that any water can drain away and then open all cold taps.
- Attempt to contain water from radiators/pipes in a bucket or bowl.
- Pull back carpets and lay newspapers or towels to absorb water.
- You may use a hairdryer/ hot water bottle to thaw the pipe. Take care to thaw from one end of the frozen section and not from the middle.
- If your external outlet pipe is affected (on your outside wall, often near your kitchen or back door) try using luke warm water from the kettle to defrost it (never use boiling water).
- If electrics are affected, do not touch. Turn off the electricity at the mains.
