With a deep freeze on the forecast for this weekend, Rebels will be facing temperatures as low as 5°C overnight, on top of rain, sleet and snow. If you’re fretting about frozen pipes, don’t worry – there are steps you can take yourself to prepare before calling in the plumber.
To help get ahead of the upcoming cold snap, Cork-based Complete Plumbing Solutions (CPS) have put together some of their top tips to prevent your pipes from freezing over, as well as what to do if they do burst.
A burst pipe can cost anywhere between €500 and €2000 to repair, which is an expense nobody needs to be dealing with. CPS owner Sean Richardson has shared some of the simple DIY fixes that anyone can try at home to keep their water flowing smoothly even in freezing temperatures.
He said: “We all know that when water freezes it expands greatly, this pressure can then cause your pipe to burst – A burst pipe can cost anywhere from €500 – €2000 to repair depending on the severity of the damage so it’s advisable to take every precaution you can!”
Here are Sean’s recommended steps to prevent your pipes from bursting this weekend:
Keep the Water Running
Still water is more likely to freeze, but even the tiniest of trickles can be enough to prevent a devastating pipe burst. Sean suggests that leaving your taps running could be the solution to preventing a burst this weekend.
He said: “We’re not saying do this with all of the taps in the house, but just the ones that are supplied by exposed pipes. The constant movement of the water through the pipes will go along to prevent freezing and also relieves any potential pressure build-up that could burst a pipe.”
Insulate your Pipes
Here’s a relatively obvious way to keep your pipes warm – splash out for some insulation. Cheap and easily available, spending €100 to insulate your pipes seems like a no-brainer when compared to the potential cost of repairing them.
Sean recommends focusing on the most vulnerable sections of piping, including exterior pipes and pipes located in unheated areas of the home like the attic. And if you don’t have time to install proper protection, there’s a quick fix – you can DIY some temporary insulation with bunched-up newspapers and tape.
Keep the Heat On
Although high energy prices might make this an unattractive option, you can’t argue with the simplicity of turning up the heat to prevent a freeze. As Sean argues, a small bump in your heating bill isn’t so bad compared to costly pipe repairs.
He said: “When the temperatures dip, we tend to blast the heat during the day and turn things down at night – this isn’t helping your internal plumbing. Try and keep your heating at a more consistent temperature over the 24-hour period as this will keep the pipes from freezing, ideally you should always be around 12 degrees Celsius at least.”
Plug the Gaps
Though they often escape notice in your everyday life, homes are full of unhelpful cracks and openings that let warm air out and cool air in. While they may not seem significant, they can have a huge impact on your home’s overall insulation if left alone.
Sean said: “Around this time of year in particular you should be checking around your doors and windows for any holes and large gaps that are letting all of the warm air in your home escape and letting cold air in.
“Window sills in particular are a common leakage point, if you have any cabling running externally to internally examine where it enters the home for gaps. By sealing these gaps you’re helping your overall home insulation which in turn benefits the plumbing.”
Let’s say that you get unlucky and your pipes freeze up – the good news is you still have a few options to prevent a burst. The first thing you should do is shut off your water at the mains, usually located under your sink or near the water meter. Sean warns that allowing the water to flow will cause pressure to build and make a break more likely.
If you’re not sure whether or not your pipes are frozen, check every tap in the house. If all of them are extremely slow or not releasing water at all, your pipes are frozen. If only one tap is having trouble, it’s a local issue rather than system-wide.
Handy ways to thaw out your pipes include blowing up and down the length of the pipe with a hairdryer and wrapping warm towels around the frozen sections. Sean also suggests that a hot water bottle could do the trick.
If worst comes to worst and your pipe does burst, don’t panic – time is of the essence, so you’ll want to make sure you follow Sean’s next steps before the damage gets any worse.
He said: “Turn off the Water Mains as soon as possible. The last thing you want to do is pull more water through the pipe so remove the supply and try to minimise the damage. Next step is to call a plumber and see how soon they can get out to see you. From here, try and get rid as much of the water as you possibly can so as to prevent the growth of mould and mildew.”
If you are feeling handy, you can make a temporary fix yourself, but make sure to call a professional straight away to come and put things permanently right.
Sean said: “You’ll need a clamp, a block of wood and some rubber. You can place the rubber over the breakage in the pipe, cover it with a wood block and then use a clamp to keep everything together –we must stress, this is a very temporary fix and won’t last long.
“Similarly you can purchase some pipe repair sleeves, these can just be slipped over the affected area and keeps the water in the pipe. Again, these won’t last long so don’t put off calling the professionals.”