How to Prepare your Pipes for the Cold Winter Months

What’s better than going home after a cold, wet and windy winters day than coming home and getting in a warm shower, then putting some warm clothes and snuggling up into a ball on the sofa and falling to sleep. However, what if your pipes are frozen and burst, resulting in you not having that warm shower, you’re still cold and now miserable. Keeping your pipes warm during the winter is important because you don’t want to have the troubles of being cold this winter… do you?Here are the five most common things you can do through the winter months to stop your pipes from freezing:Find the Properties Shut-Off ValveFirst and foremost, you need to be aware of where the properties shut-off valve is in case of a frozen pipe. This may take you a while for you to find however it’s crucial you do because this will make the situation less severe than it could have been. The quicker you find the water supply, the less damage that the house will take. Furthermore, this will reduce the cost needed for repairs on the property. Usually, the main water shut off valve is in the basement of a house or outside the property normally in the utility area of the house.Keep the House WarmKeeping your house continuously warm through the winter is very helpful for the pipes and they’re less likely to freeze when doing so. This doesn’t mean that you should keep the heating on 24 hours a day because that’s wasting energy, which we don’t need at this time of the year. However, you shouldn’t let your house go below a certain temperature, normally around 13 degrees is an ideal temperature for the pipes. This should keep the pipes warm and reduce the risk of them freezing.  You could find your pipes frozen in the morning if you let the temperature decrease a lot overnight, which is not ideal!Pipe Insulation is KeyPipe Insulators are an item that you can buy from most DIY shops, they keep your pipe temperate warm throughout the winter months. They’re easy to install, all that is required is to resize the material to fit the pipe and attach the insulator to the pipe you can find around the property. This is a smart technique you should think about this winter as it can stop you from having to replace your pipes which isn’t a cheap exercise. The insulator works on getting the cold air out of the pipes while keeping the warm air in. Another technique that you should bear in mind if you cannot get your hands-on pipe insulation is to wrap the newspaper and tie it with cable ties. This should work in an identical way which helps to prevent frozen pipes.Keep Interior Doors OpenPipes are often located in the unusual places in the house, many are placed within cupboards and cabinets. As the cold months are in full force now it’s a good idea to keep them open when the heating is on in the house. This allows heat to get to the pipes reducing the chance of the pipes freezing. Interior doors have an important role in keeping the heating flow through the rooms of the house. Keeping these open really helps the heat reach the pipes.Allow for Trickling TapsThis isn’t the most cost-effective technique to help your pipes remain unfrozen, however, if you’re worried that your pipes freeze on a winter night, leave the tap trickling overnight to keep the flow of water. This will reduce the risk of having to pay a bill on trying to repair damage to your property. Allowing the water to flow through the pipes overnight will reduce the chance of them freezing in one place. Contact Drain 247 for Drain Unblocking in London & HertfordshireIf you’re in need of drainage repair solutions, whether it be on a domestic or commercial level, get in touch with Drain 247. We offer a range of services, from drain mapping and CCTV drain surveys, to general drain maintenance and more.Call us on 0800 612 8038 or you can complete our quick enquiry form to get your free, no-obligation quote.

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