Advice for thawing or leaking pipes
When temperatures rise after a cold snap you need to act quickly to protect your water pipes and deal with any bursts.
Damage to pipes occurs when they become frozen, but you're only going to notice when the water in the pipe thaws. So, if a pipe is frozen isolate the affected area by closing your stop tap.
Turn off your water supply
Turn off the main stop tap. You should find this under the kitchen sink or where the pipe enters your home such as in your garage or cellar. If you have a cold water tank, turn off the stopcock (this is usually found in the attic or loft).
If you spot a leak having isolated the affected pipe by closing the stop tap, then call a plumber. If you want to find an approved plumber, use the
Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering's website.
If temperatures drop below zero and you're the
owner,
caretaker or
landlord of a property which may be left empty over a weekend or Christmas period, it's worth dropping in to see if your pipes are all ok. If you've got any problems please give us a call on
0845 1 24 24 24 .
Turn off the electrics
If water leaks near your electrics or electrical appliances, switch off the mains immediately. If the mains switch is wet, don't touch it or you could risk being electrocuted. Call a qualified electrician immediately.
Protect your possessions
If you think a pipe might burst move everything around it to avoid any damage.
If your neighbours have been away for a long spell during winter and temperatures have dropped, have a quick look around to make sure they haven't got any burst pipes or leaks. If you see any problems please call us immediately on
0845 1 24 24 24 .
Drain the system
Once you've turned off your stop tap, drain the system by turning on all your cold taps and flushing your toilets.
Please only do this if you've turned off your water supply.
Turn off water heating systems
Switch off the central heating, immersion heater and any other water heating systems. If the central heating uses solid fuel, let this die out. Once water heating has shut down, turn on the hot taps to help drain the system.
Resuming normal service
Once the plumbing has thawed and there are no leaks, stop running the taps and slowly open the stop tap. Check the plumbing system for leaks once it's under pressure and, only when you're satisfied all systems are thawed, switch on water heating appliances.
Hygiene advice if you're without water
If you're without water and you're worried about your
hygiene, health or
feeding your baby , please
follow our advice.
What we're doing to help
We're trying to fix any bursts on our own pipes as quickly as we can so that water supplies aren't interrupted. We've increased the number of people on the ground who're helping us find and fix leaks. - We're investing an additional £7million and have 140 people dealing with leaks - that's a 15% increase on last year and we're recruiting more.
