Winter Advice

We’ve shared our top tips below for preventing, and dealing with, winter water emergencies.

You can find more tips and advice below, and on our YouTube channel.

How to prevent freezing and burst pipes:

• Know where your stop tap is and how to use it - you may want to turn it off if leaving your property overnight or longer

• Fix dripping taps, inside and out, to save water and prevent frozen water backing up into the tap. You can also isolate and drain your outside tap, disconnecting the hose.

• Keep your heating on at least 14 degrees Celsius overnight and when you’re away from home, to stop pipes freezing

• Insulate outside taps and pipes in unheated areas with foam insulation

• Have your boiler serviced regularly by a Gas Safe and WaterSafe-approved engineer to keep it in tip-top condition

• Keep the name and number of a WaterSafe-approved emergency plumber to hand - perhaps by writing it on a spare gift tag and attaching it to your stop tap.

What to do if a pipe freezes or bursts in your home:

• Turn off the water using your stop tap

• If water is pouring from a pipe, also turn on taps to drain the system quickly

• Capture any leaking water in a bucket if possible e.g. for flushing toilets

• Use towels underneath leaks and bursts to soak up the water and minimise damage

• Thaw frozen pipes using hot water bottles - starting from the tap and working your way back

• Use a WaterSafe approved plumber for any work required.

Dealing with frozen condensate boiler pipes:

Condensate pipes are commonly found in properties with a combi boiler, as well as other modern boilers. In the winter, the condensation in the pipe can freeze and burst the pipe, and cause pipes inside your home to do the same.

If this happens, your boiler will switch off and display an error message, so you won’t have any central heating or hot water - and run the risk of a large water bill if the pipe bursts or leaks.

Preventing condensate pipes freezing:

• Insulate the pipe with foam insulation

• Keep your heating on at least 14 degrees Celsius overnight and when you’re away from home, to prevent pipes freezing

• Have your boiler serviced regularly by a Gas Safe and WaterSafe-approved engineer to keep it in tip-top condition

• Know where your stop tap is and how to use it - you may want to turn it off if leaving your property overnight.

If you have a frozen condensate pipe:

• Use a hot water bottle to thaw the pipe, starting from the outlet and working back towards the house

• Call a WaterSafe-approved plumber for further advice.