Freezing temperatures can play havoc with the pipes inside and outside your home. As water freezes, it expands, increasing the pressure in pipes. This causes them to buckle and split, particularly if the pipe thaws quickly as temperature rises.
As you gear up for the winter season, your to-do list might include cosying up under blankets, and firing up the heating. But here's a crucial task you might not want to overlook: safeguarding your home plumbing and wrapping up your pipes!
From freezing pipes to potential plumbing mishaps, we've got you covered with expert tips to make your winter preparation a breeze.
How to get your home winter ready
When the cold snap hits, the last thing you want is your pipes freezing and bursting, leading to costly repairs. The good news is that there are simple, cost-effective steps you can take to protect your home. Check out our step-by-step video guide to winterising your home.
Wrap up your pipes
As the cold weather sets in, it's crucial to protect your home plumbing from the frosty grip of winter. Insulating your pipes, water tanks, and taps with pipe lagging is a simple and effective way to keep them warm, especially those in unheated areas of your home, like your loft or garage.
Good news! You can get FREE tap jackets by signing up to Save our Streams! If you need pipe lagging, you can pick this up from your local DIY merchant.
Keeping it warm
While heating your home can be costly, the potential expense of dealing with a burst pipe is even bigger! To prevent your pipes from freezing, consider leaving your heating on a low temperature, particularly if you’re going away.
You can also keep your home warm by making sure your boiler has been recently serviced, bleeding your radiators and draught proofing windows and doors.
Finding your stop taps
In case of an emergency, like a burst pipe, it's good to know the location of your stop taps. These valves allow you to quickly shut off your water supply if needed. Learn more about finding your stop tap and its importance, here.
Explore our handy how-to guides
These video guides will give you all the information and skills you need to prepare your home for the winter season!
We’re making sure you have a stress-free winter
While your home preparation is essential, rest assured that we're on top of our game too! Freezing temperatures can also cause issues with the pipes in our supply network. Changes in temperature cause the ground to move and pipes to expand and contract, which puts them under more pressure and increases the risk of bursts. Our teams work around the clock all year round, and especially over winter! They work hard behind-the-scenes to help minimise winter related issues by:
- Preparing and scenario testing for any emergency that might occur
- Stocking up on essentials like sandbags, salt and grit
- Gritting any leaks that might be out and about that freeze over
- Servicing our vehicles
- Preparing tanker lorries to bring in water from other areas in case of any supply interruptions
- Stocking up on bottled water to give to any known affected areas, especially those customers on our Priority Services Register that require water 24/7.
- Having teams on standby 24 hours a day to keep your water supply flowing
Helping you this winter
We know that some people may need additional help over the winter season, especially if there are any supply interruptions. Our Priority Services Register is here to help those in need, including making meters and bills more user-friendly, providing bottled water during supply interruptions, and protecting you from potential scams.
We all rely on water for various cold-weather essentials, whether it's heating our homes, making a comforting cup of tea, or cooking up some warm, hearty meals. No one should have to fret over water bills while staying warm. If you're facing financial challenges this winter, explore our financial help schemes.
Who to call
If you do have any big problems this winter, it’s important you know who to call for assistance!
- WaterSafe’s approved plumbers can help with internal plumbing issues. By picking an approved plumber, you know you have somebody you can trust.
- We’ve partnered with HomeServe to give you peace of mind that your home is covered