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How Do You Prevent Water Pipes Freezing? A Guide to Avoiding the Horror of Frozen Pipes this Winter

Frozen pipes can be a real worry for homeowners when the cold weather comes. They’re not only inconvenient, they can also cause costly damage. But there are some easy steps you can take to prevent pipes from freezing and to thaw them out when they do freeze. 

Topics

1. What Causes a Frozen Pipe to Burst?
2. How Do I Prevent Pipes Freezing?
3. Insulate or Lag Pipes
4. Use Your Home’s Warm Air to Prevent Frozen Pipes
5. What if I’m Not Home for a Few Days?
6. Regular Boiler Servicing
7. Fix Leaking Taps
8. What Should I Do if I Discover a Frozen Pipe?

   

Introduction

When exposed pipes freeze, the water inside them freezes, blocking water flow and potentially bursting the pipe. The average cost of damage caused by frozen or burst pipes in the UK has shot up in recent years to almost £12,800, so it's important to protect your water supply lines before winter arrives.

Thankfully, there are simple steps you can take to avoid the horror of frozen pipes when winter temperatures plummet.

What Causes a Frozen Pipe to Burst?

The reason you need to be concerned about pipes freezing is that ice expands inside the pipe. This can increase pressure inside the pipe sufficiently to burst it, depending on the volume of water that's been frozen and the pipe's shape, condition and age.

So, how do you go about stopping your pipes from freezing? In this article, we look at the simple ways to prevent frozen pipes and all the stress and hassle that they cause.

How Do I Prevent Pipes Freezing?

When a pipe freezes it can cause a serious problem, as water can be very destructive in the home and loss of water flow is more than an inconvenience, whether it’s to your taps or heating system.. However, following these tip will help keep your pipes intact during freezing weather.

Insulate Your Pipes

Perhaps the most common way homeowners across the UK prevent exposed water pipes from freezing is to insulate them with self-adhesive lagging, pipe insulation, or heating tapes. Insulating pipes in this way creates a barrier between the water pipes and the cold winter air to effectively prevent heat loss.

The cost of adding this protection is easy on the pocket, as you shouldn't pay much more than £200 to £300 for your whole house, if it's installed by a professional. That said, it's a pretty easy job, so if you’re a DIYer you’ll be able to do it yourself and save money.

The areas to cover when you insulate water pipes include:

• Water Tanks - Hot water tanks in particularly cold areas, such as a garage or an unoccupied loft, should be protected with a hot water cylinder jacket, and the water supply lines that feed the boiler need to be lagged

• Pipes in Cold Areas - You're going to need to insulate pipes in the coldest parts of your home, which naturally includes those on the outside of your property. Also, don't forget to cover the pipe bends and lag your central heating boiler condensate pipe – find out more about keeping your boiler working in freezing weather  

• Outside Taps - Remember that it's not just the pipes that need protection from the cold, so be sure to also insulate any outside taps you may have. You can find insulated tap covers available from many homecare retailers

Use Your Home's Warm Air to Prevent Frozen Pipes

Another easy way to stop pipes freezing when the cold weather arrives is to use the warm air from your living spaces to circulate to colder areas. Some water tanks and pipes might be located in your loft or cupboards, so they'll benefit from this injection of heat.

By opening your loft hatch and cupboard doors and allowing this warmer air to circulate around them, you'll help to ensure they stay unfrozen during a cold snap.

But What if I'm Not Home For a Few Days?

If you're not going to be at home for an extended period, an effective way to ensure you don't return to a burst pipe is to have one of the many frost protection thermostats available on the market installed in your home.

Image Credit: Tubular Heaters

This low-cost tech can ensure that your home's temperature is kept above freezing while you're absent, giving you real peace of mind. It also pays to turn your water off at the stopcock when you go away before running your taps dry.

Installing draught excluders to doors and windows will also help to keep the cold air out and the ambient temperature up.

Get Your Boiler Serviced Regularly

Ask any good heating engineer and they'll tell you that both gas and electric boilers need to be serviced on a regular basis – usually once a year. By getting yours checked out, you'll find out if there are any cold spots in your piping system that could be vulnerable to freezing weather.

In the same way as you might get a cold weather service for your car in the lead-up to winter, getting your hot water and heating system checked lets you know that your boiler is set up for the colder months of the year.

Fixing Leaking Taps

There's something of a myth going around that a cold water drip will help to avoid frozen pipes. However, rather than preventing pipes from freezing, what it might actually do is cause your drain water to freeze and result in your sink's pipework blocking and overflowing. Instead, if you spot any taps that don’t shut off properly or are leaking you should get them fixed before the winter sets in.

What Should I Do if I Discover a Frozen Pipe?

What happens if you discover a water pipe has already become frozen, despite your best efforts? Can you thaw frozen pipes? The good news is, yes you can.

There are a number of signs you should look out for that will point towards this kind of situation, such as:

• You're only getting a trickle from your taps

• You can see condensation on exposed pipes

• There's visible frost on the pipe or it's bulging

• Unusual odours are coming from your drains

• Certain areas of your home are colder for no reason

First things first, you should find your stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink) and shut off the water in case of burst pipes. Then find the frozen pipe and apply heat.

This can be done in a few different ways, such as using towels soaked in warm water and wrapping them around the area. Other ways to thaw frozen pipes include applying a hot water bottle or electric heating pad to raise the temperature.

Once it's thawed, you'll know whether you were dealing with just a frozen pipe or a burst pipe. If it's the latter, you'll be glad that you shut off the water before you began.

Although tackling frozen pipes can be a straightforward DIY job, if you're in any doubt about having a go at it, it's best to get help from a more experienced DIYer or contact a plumber.

Final Thoughts

When exposed pipes in your home freeze, it can lead to a large repair bill, however, as we've seen, it's very preventable when you take some simple steps that don't cost the earth. Just invest in some pipe insulation, a couple of insulated tap covers, some draught excluders and maybe a frost protection thermostat and you'll do much to stop your pipes from freezing.

If you'd like to see more useful articles about how to improve and protect your home, visit the Hiatt Hardware Blog for 'How to Guides', inspiration and much, much more!