How to avoid water damage after cold weather
You might feel relieved after a cold weather snap has passed – but once ice and snow begin to retreat, it’s the big thaw that could put your home at most risk.
Escape of water damage is one of the most common types of domestic property insurance claims, with insurers paying out £1.8 million for it every day.1
Cracks in pipes and plumbing joints may not be noticeable, for example, because frozen water is keeping them sealed. However, as it defrosts, it could cause leaks and internal floods. These may start slowly at first before becoming more serious and leading to costly damage and disruption.
So, how can you avoid water damage after cold weather? Don’t wait until the thaw – instead, take the following proactive measures to reduce the risk to your home.
Must know
Frozen pipes are a significant cause of escaping water because when water turns to ice, it expands, causing the pipe to crack or burst.
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Test your stop tap
Your first line of defence against water damage after cold weather is to quickly turn off the mains water supply using your home’s internal stop tap (also known as a stopcock or isolation valve). Doing this will prevent, or at least limit, the harm caused by water leaks.
So, it’s essential to know where your stop tap is. You can usually find it where your water supply enters your house. It’s commonly located under the kitchen sink, but can also be in a utility room, downstairs toilet, garage or under the stairs.2 The stop tap is usually a metal, tap-like valve on the rising main pipe.
As a stop tap can sometimes seize up, it’s important to test that it works properly by turning it on and off several times. Turning the stop tap clockwise will close it, but it may take a few minutes for the water to stop altogether.
If it won’t turn, contact a plumber to fix it. WaterSafe is a free online directory and national accreditation body that lists qualified, approved plumbers across the UK.
Adding extra isolation valves3 to sinks, toilets or water tanks in the loft is worth considering. Taking this measure means you can shut off water to specific areas and deal with a burst pipe or plumbing joint without losing the water supply to your entire home.
Check pipes
Checking water pipes for leaks after cold weather is always a sensible precaution. Look for split, dripping, rusting or oxidised pipes and joints, and run the taps to ensure that water flows freely. For restricted or intermittent flow, check with a plumber to see if there is hidden damage.
So, what if you are unsure about whether a pipe carries water or gas? These tests will tell you it’s a water pipe:
- Turn on water taps and if a pipe vibrates or makes a sound when the water is running.
- Look for signs of moisture, mould, or corrosion (especially green copper stains).
- Feel the pipe – a water pipe will often feel cold.
Consider fitting a leak detector
Leak detectors monitor your water use and can turn off the supply if they detect a leak. They do this using methods such as moisture sensors, devices that detect the sound of escaping water, and flow meters that track unexpected water usage. Advanced systems can even send warnings to your smartphone when something is wrong.
Alternatively, you can use your water meter to check for leaks.1 You can usually find it under a small, square cover in your driveway, front garden or pavement in front of your house. It might also be located in your kitchen or garage.
Make sure nothing is using any water in your home, turn off your stop tap and note the reading. Then check again after one or two hours to see if the meter reading has changed. If it has, there may be a leak somewhere and you should contact a plumber to check.
Repair dripping taps
It’s vital to get leaky taps, showers and toilets fixed by a plumber, as even tiny trickles of water can lead to frozen pipes. Plumbers can often fix dripping taps by replacing the washer or you can do it yourself – videos and guides can help.4
Frozen pipes often lead to water escaping because ice can crack or burst a pipe, and bear in mind that pipes can freeze in as little as six hours.5
Garden and outdoor taps are especially vulnerable to freezing, so cover them up in winter to protect them. Use foam lagging or tap jackets made of waterproof fabric filled with thick insulation and fastened with Velcro.
Check your lagging
All pipes and tanks in loft spaces and other draughty areas, such as garages and outbuildings, are also at risk of freezing. So, ensure they are fully covered with lagging, which is a type of foam tubing. You can buy this cheaply from DIY stores or online and fit it yourself, as it is relatively easy to cut to size and wrap around your pipes for insulation
To help prevent water pipes in the loft from freezing in icy weather, you could open the loft hatch to let warm air from other parts of the house circulate.6
Another way to avoid water damage after cold weather is to ensure your central heating is working as well as it can. Do this by getting your boiler serviced by a Gas Safe-registered engineer. Be sure to ‘bleed’ your radiators, too, as bleeding releases any trapped air, which prevents hot water from circulating properly.
Read our tips on how to prevent frozen pipes.
What do you if your pipes are frozen
If your pipes freeze, turn off your water at the stop tap. Then, thaw the frozen pipes slowly using hot water bottles wrapped in cloth, warm towels soaked in hot water or a hairdryer on a low or medium heat setting.7
Do not be tempted to use an open flame or boiling water to thaw a pipe, or a hammer to dislodge ice, as these could cause the pipe to burst. Once thawed, check the pipe for leaks by running a dry cloth along it.
If a pipe has burst, turn off the water at the stop tap as quickly as possible. You should also switch off your central heating.
Put plugs into the bath and sinks and open the taps to drain down the system. The water you capture will give you a temporary supply while you wait for help – keep watch to ensure the bath and sinks don’t overflow.
Making an insurance claim?
If the worst happens and your home suffers water damage after cold weather, contact your insurance provider as soon as you can to report your claim.
See our guide to buildings and content cover for policyholders. We’ve also outlined the steps you should take if you need to make a claim.
Sources
2 https://www.watersafe.org.uk/advice/new_home/where_to_find_an_internal_stop_tap/
3 https://www.stroud.gov.uk/media/zqcogbvr/isolate-a-leak.pdf
4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqr32z_USjc
5 https://www.ciphe.org.uk/news-and-advice/blog-articles/frozen-pipes