Guide: Prepare your Home for Winter
Thursday 11th December 2014
At the height of the cold spell in 2010 insurers dealt with 3,500 claims for burst pipe damage every day. The typical cost of household damage caused by burst pipes averages £7,000.
You can prevent this happening in your home. Encourage air and water circulation in your home by following these steps.
Some things you can do to protect your property this Winter
1. Keeping your home's central heating on at a minimum temperature of 15ºC (or 60ºF) is a wise precaution, even when you're not at home, particularly if there is a possibility that the temperature outside might drop below freezing.
2. Check the lagging in your loft, around your water pipes and cold water storage tank. Even small gaps in the lagging could be big enough to let in cold air and freeze the pipe. Pipes in attics, eaves and behind cupboards, are particularly vulnerable as they are typically more exposed and prone to freezing.
3. If you are going away on holiday, you might consider leaving at least one cold tap dripping slightly on each floor of your home. Even the slowest of drips can significantly reduce the risk of water freezing inside your pipes. (This action need only be taken if you have cold water storage tanks, and you are not draining down the water system but leaving the central heating switched on).
4. Wherever a cable or phone line comes through the exterior wall, you should check to make sure that the hole is adequately sealed to stop cold air from getting in (and warm air from escaping).
5. Leaving kitchen cupboards and bathroom cabinet doors open will allow warm air to reach hidden pipes.
6. Leave the loft hatch open. It is important that warm air is allowed to circulate around as much of your house as possible.
7. If you are going to be away for a long time, it is a good idea to completely drain your water system. This means draining the water from your cold and hot water storage tanks, as well as from your radiators and central heating pipes.
8. Find your mains water stop-cock. Once you've found it, check that it is easily accessible easy to turn off. Being able to turn off the water in an emergency is very important; so, if you have any problems, you should seek advice from a plumber now.
9. Many burst pipes are caused by frozen pipes thawing out. Remain vigilant once the weather starts to warm up again. Ask someone to check your empty property.
10. Though the merits of a fuel-efficient condensing boiler are well known, you might not be aware of its added Winter risk. Condensing boilers produce waste condensed water, which is evacuated from your property through an overflow pipe. In the Winter, the overflow pipe is at risk of freezing. When this happens the waste water is likely to back-up and cause damage to your home.
Source: http://www.homeprotect.co.uk/winter/cold-weather-protection
