How to avoid frozen pipes

Winter is here and whether it has already happened to you or it is simply on your mind because of the sudden temperature drop in Glasgow, a little prep work can go a long way to helping avoid frozen pipes in your home.  These simple tips can help ensure that your pipes are running freely through the winter months.

Why is this so important?

Because as we all know, water expands when it freezes and that expansion can burst pipes.  Different pipe matters can cope with the expansion in different ways but a burst pipe can be a massive nightmare for homeowners so it really does benefit you to carry out some prep work to ensure that your pipes keep flowing.

Insulate Pipes

Pipe lagging is one of the best ways to ensure your pipes don’t freeze.  Pipe lagging is a bit like putting a jumper on a pipe.  It is insulating foam (though older homes lagging would have been wrapped material) that fits around pipes and helps keep the frost away from the metal or plastic piping. It is a very cheap option to fit and at JSL Plumbing, we can install pipe lagging for you.

Let warm air move around the house

If your loft is where you have pipes and water tanks yet it is space that is cut off from the main heat source of the house, it runs the risk of freezing.  Occasionally, open the door and let some warm aur up into the loft so that warmer air can better circulate around the home.

Keep cold air out

Block any chilly breezes from your house by keeping windows closed and draughts blocked.

Where is the stopcock?

Okay so this isn’t maintenance but rather advise for when things do go wrong. If you do have a burst pipe, you will need to shut the water off quickly.  If you don’t know where the stopcock is, you run the risk of adding to the damage caused by a leaking pipe simply with the time it takes to find it.  Know where it is and make sure it is not seized open.

Going on holiday?  Turn off the water.

If you are going away for winter, it may be worth draining the water system.  After all, if there is no water in the pipes to freeze, you can’t really suffer from a burst pipe caused by expanding ice! And do you know where you can turn off the water to the house?  Yes that’s right – the stopcock.

Fix leaking taps now – not later.

A drip drip leaking tap in freezing conditions will quickly become an icicle.  That icicle will quickly block the tap and freeze over.  That will then create a blockage which will get bigger and bigger over the course of the sub zero temperatures and can cause a burst pipe.  Get it fixed.

How we can help

JSL Plumbing have been proudly serving Glasgow since 2006. In that time we have seen it all. From blocked toilets to leaking dishwashers and everything in between (including burst pipes caused by winter freezing).

If you need a reliable Glasgow plumber then choose JSL Plumbing. One of Glasgow’s leading and recommended plumbers.

JSL Plumbing is just part of a greater and stronger firm that covers Drainage and Heating. So if you are unlucky enough to have your boiler stop working, your toilet to stop flushing and your garden to flood because of a blocked drain….one call will fix them all.

As you will have seen, we cover it all at JSL Plumbing. So whether you have a leaking tap that just won’t stop or you want a leak found and fixed, we are the number one choice for reliable, recommended and trusted Glasgow plumbers,