How to avoid frozen pipes this winter                                                

Factors Direct Top Tips for Homeowners.

We are getting close to that time of year again where frozen pipes can affect your home over the colder months.

We appreciate that times are tough, and everyone is monitoring their monthly outgoings more than ever. It may be tempting to keep your heating turned off to help with the increasing energy costs, but this could have costly implications for issues with frozen pipes. To avoid this issue, it is recommended that your thermostat is set to at least 7°C, even when you are not home.

Frozen pipes affect private dwellings more so than common areas, therefore Factors Direct have put together our ‘top tips’ to help avoid issues with frozen pipes this winter.

To help prevent your pipes from freezing:

• Know where your internal stopcock valve is (it’s usually under the kitchen sink) and how to turn it off.
• Keep your home warm.
• Insulate pipes in exposed or draughty places.
• Keep your boiler service up to date.
• Have the name and telephone number of a qualified plumber to hand.

If you have frozen pipes, you should do the following:

• Turn off your inside stop tap immediately.
• Turn on nearby cold taps (keep the stop tap turned off) can relieve pressure on the frozen pipe, saving some water for flushing toilets and hand washing.
• It’s best to thaw out frozen pipes slowly, with hot water bottles or towels soaked in hot water.
• Never use a naked flame or blowtorch to thaw the pipe – direct heat can cause permanent damage and potential fire risk.
• If you need help, contact an approved plumber.

Sometimes pipes freezing and thawing can cause them to burst. If this happens:

• Turn off the water supply coming into your property at the stop tap and switch off your boiler.
• Open all your taps to drain the system as quickly as possible, saving some water in a bucket for flushing toilets and hand washing.
• When the water stops running, turn all the taps off.
• Soak up escaping water with towels to limit the damage.
• Call an approved plumber who is qualified to work on the plumbing system in your home.
• If water has leaked near your electrics, do not touch them and switch them off at the fuse box.

Our emergency contact numbers are https://factorsdirect.verticaldev.org/emergency-out-of-hours-contacts. Please bear in mind that this service is for common repairs only. Issues with frozen pipes for private dwellings would be classed as a private repair to that property.

If you have any questions or concerns about your home this winter, please do not hesitate to contact our helpful team on 0141 739 4439 or at enquiries@factorsdirect.verticaldev.org

Factor Registration: PF001012