Here is a weather forecast – the winter monster has once again risen from its slumber to terrorize us as punishment for enjoying a (fairly) decent summer.
From snow, sleet, frost and just the sheer cold – all are potentially harmful side effects that the winter golem will wreak on your property. The biggest of these however (our public enemy no.1) is escape of water.
These types of claims are increasingly prevalent throughout the colder seasons and can be potentially disastrous as water, met by extremes in temperature, can expand and contort your plumbing.
When occupying the house such effects can be moderated. When leaving it unoccupied however, it helps to do the following:
- Leave your heating on a constant 15 degrees (and try not to think about soaring energy prices whilst doing it)
- Turn off the domestic water supply if you are leaving the home unoccupied for prolonged periods.
- When leaving the home unoccupied (even if just for a day) ask a neighbour or relative to keep an eye on the place so that any problems can be identified and tackled immediately.
Above are three simple things that can go a long way to saving you a big insurance headache. But in the event you are hit by the great escape, here is a couple of things that could help:
- Turn off the water supply at the main stop valve (Obvious one I’ll admit)
- Contact an APPROVED plumbing and heating engineer for assistance (there’s a time and a place for DIY and this isn’t it!)
Also important to note about frozen pipes – they don’t react gently to being thawed out with naked flames! While most people have the common sense to know this, it does happen occasionally, so just stick to a gradual low heat (from a hot water bottle or even a hairdryer) if you need to thaw anything out.
The key here is prevention, be it anything from state of the art detection systems to good common sense actions. If you are ever in need of information on these things just give us a call.
By Simon Wright