Cold weather tips

Be prepared for when the cold weather sets in

Before the cold weather sets in it’s a good idea to turn on your heating system to check that things are working correctly.

Our contractors may be very busy if the weather turns cold suddenly.

Burst pipes

To prevent burst pipes in cold weather you can:

• Try to keep your home fairly warm at all times even when you are not there - leave the heating on a low setting 
• Know where your stopcock is and make sure you can turn off the main water supply if you need to. The cold water stop tap will be under the kitchen sink or in the bathroom.
• Open the loft hatch, as this will help warm air circulate to the attic and prevent the pipes in your loft from freezing
• Make sure outside taps are lagged and if they have separate stopcocks turn them off in winter
• If you are going on holiday, or will be away from your home during a cold spell, turn your water off at the mains.  This will help prevent potential burst pipes while you are away.

If your pipes do freeze or burst:

• Turn off the main stopcock
• Switch off your immersion heater if you have one
• Switch off your heating and hot water system
• Turn on all your taps to drain off as much water as possible
• Try to find out where the water is coming from and contain it if possible by putting rags or a bucket under it
• It is important that you do not use your lights if water is dripping through a light fitting

What to do if your pipes are frozen

• If there is no water from any of your taps the pipes have probably frozen
• Switch off your gas boiler
• Switch off your immersion heater
• Let your fire go out if your heading is Solid Fuel
• Keep checking your taps
• Don’t go out and leave all your taps open
• Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to repair your boiler if your water supply has frozen

Condensation

Condensation is one of the main causes of mould in your home. It can easily be controlled with a few easy steps.

Condensation starts as moisture produced from cooking, washing, and drying clothes on radiators. As the moisture rises and cools on cold surfaces - such as ceilings, walls, tiles and windows - it turns to liquid and can form mould.

You can help control condensation and mould by:

• keeping your property at a temperature of at least 18C
• closing kitchen and bathroom doors to stop steam going into other rooms
• opening kitchen and bathroom windows when cooking or washing to let steam escape
• opening windows in rooms for a while each day to let in fresh air
• wiping down surfaces when moisture settles to stop mould forming
• not blocking air vents

You can help reduce moisture by:

• drying clothes outside whenever possible
• covering pans (and opening windows) when cooking
• venting tumble dryers outside

If you would like one of our hygrometer-thermometers to help you measure temperature and humidity to prevent mould, please contact us.