Cold weather advice

Posted on the 15th March 2018

With the temperature set to drop again in the coming few days, here are some simple measures we recommend to keep you and your home warm:

Bleed your radiators
If your property isn’t getting as warm as you think it should be, or your radiator feels cold at the top and warm at the bottom, there may be air trapped inside the heating system. To release this air, turn off your central heating and, using your radiator key, open the radiator bleed valve until you hear the air being released. As soon as water starts coming through turn the valve off and then switch the heating back on.

Locate your stop cock
It’s a really good idea to familiarise yourself with the location of the cold water stop cock within your home. Often the stop cock is fitted under the kitchen sink and can be closed by turning it clockwise. You may need to use this in the event of an uncontainable leak.

Condensate pipes
Some heating systems contain a condensate pipe which often runs outside the property to release moisture created in the system but when the temperature outside turns very cold, the condensate pipe can freeze. If this happens in your home, it may leave you without heating or hot water.

Prevent your condensate pipe freezing:

To protect exposed condensate pipe from the cold weather you can insulate the pipe with lagging which can be brought at most DIY stores.

If your condensate pipe freezes:

If you experience loss of heating or hot water, it may be because your condense pipe has frozen. Just by visually checking the pipe, you should be able to identify if it looks frozen, however sometimes a boiler may also display a fault code.

A few simple steps can help thaw out the pipe and restore your heating or hot water.

You can warm the pipe with a hot water bottle, heat pads or by pouring warm water over the pipe to gradually thaw it out. Once you have successfully defrosted the pipe, you may need to reset your boiler for it to come back on.

Once you have tried all these steps, if you are still experiencing a loss of heating and hot water please call our customer services team on 0300 303 1010 where any of our advisors would be happy to assist you.

Please note that during adverse weather conditions we sometimes experience higher call volumes, so it may take us a little longer to answer your call.

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