We have put together some hot tips to make sure that your don’t get left in the cold during the winter months.

Stop to think about your taps
If you are unlucky enough to get a burst pipe, you will need to turn off the water as soon as possible to stop your home flooding.

Make sure you know where the stop taps are: the cold one will be in the kitchen, bathroom or downstairs toilet; the hot one is in the airing cupboard (marked with a red handle).

Check that you can easily turn them off. If you can not, City Council tenants should call our Repairs Call Centre on 252 7007 and ask for a plumber to visit.

Cold front
When very cold weather has been forecast leave the sink unit doors and loft hatch open a little. This will allow warm air from the rest of the house to reach pipes and the water tank and stop them from freezing.

If you have an outside toilet that you use regularly put a little salt in the pan to stop it from freezing and put some form of heating, such as a fan heater, in. If you do not use the toilet in the winter months turn off the water supply at the stop tap.

Pipe work
If your pipes do freeze find out where they are frozen by turning on the kitchen tap first. If no water comes out then the pipe is frozen between the stop tap and the sink. If water flow from the kitchen tap then try the taps in the toilet and bathroom.

Applying gentle heat from a hair dryer or fan on a low setting can melt the blockage. DO NOT use a blow torch or hot air stripper as too much heat could crack the pipes.

If your pipes burst turn off the stop taps and turn the kitchen or bathroom taps on (depending on where the burst is). This allows some water to drain down the plughole rather than on to your carpets.

City Council tenants should phone the Repairs Call Centre on 252 7007 (or 254 9439 if the lines are closed) and we will send a plumber as soon as we can.

Going away?
If you are going away during the winter for a short break set the heating to come on at a low setting twice a day.

If you will be away for a longer period tenants can call the Repairs Call Centre and ask for a plumber to drain the system. This can take several days to arrange so please give us plenty of notice.

Be prepared
Just in case the worst does happen, insure the contents of your home against damage from burst pipes and water tanks.

In bad weather the Repairs Call Centre may get a lot of calls. We only have a limited number of plumbers, so tenants may have to wait some time for a visit. It is far better to make sure that your pipes do not freeze and burst than hope we will be able to fix a leak quickly.

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