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WINTER WEATHER HOME SAFETY ADVICE

Last winter we experienced some of the coldest weather we’ve seen in many years.

Severe weather can disrupt our daily lives through flooding, power cuts or burst pipes in the home, so it’s important to be prepared.
 
Here are some simple steps that you can take to protect your home during freezing weather:

Heat your home
• Ensure your home is adequately heated at all times. Keep radiators on low in all rooms throughout the house.

• If you’re going away over the winter, leave your heating on low to prevent pipes from freezing.  If you don’t want to leave your heating on, turn your water supply off and run your taps until the water tanks are empty. 

• Remember to leave a key with a family member or friend who can keep an eye on your home while you are away. 

Frozen pipes
Most frozen pipes are found in the roofspace and below the kitchen sink unit. If you think your pipes are frozen -

• Turn the water supply off at the stopcock.
• Thaw along the pipe starting from the end nearest the tap by putting hot water bottles or a thick cloth soaked in hot water over the frozen pipe.  Alternatively, use a hair dryer on the lowest setting to thaw the pipes.  Be careful not to warm them too quickly or they may burst. DON’T use a blow lamp or naked flame as this may cause damage to your pipes or lead to a fire in your home.

DON’T use your heating while your water is turned off and the tanks have been drained. Only use it again when it has been checked by our engineers and you have been told it is safe to use.

Frozen pipes outside the home
If water is not running away from your property during a freeze your outside drains could be blocked.  Try pouring hot water down the drain to melt any ice.

If no water is coming into your home, and you’ve checked the pipes inside are not frozen or burst, it’s likely that the issue is with the mains water supply. Contact NI Water on 084 5744 0088.

Burst pipe
If you already have a burst pipe -
• Turn off the water supply by turning the stopcock clockwise.
• Try to block escaping water with thick cloths such as towels.
• Drain the system by running all the taps and flushing the toilet a few times.

DON’T use your heating while your water is turned off and the tanks have been drained. Only use it again when it has been checked by our engineers and you’ve been told it’s safe to use.

DON’T use the water heater while your water is turned off and the tanks have been drained.

If the water has come into contact with electrical fittings turn the electricity OFF at the mains. Contact Clanmil on 028 9087 6019 or the out of hours emergency line 028 9042 1010.

How to turn your water supply off
Every home has a mains water supply coming from outside the property. This is controlled by a valve (stopcock) that you can use to turn it off. It is very important that you know where your stopcock is and that you check it is working.

Stopcocks are usually found in your kitchen, below the sink unit. In some houses the stopcock is in a front or back hall or in a larder unit beside the kitchen sink.

Locate your stop cock NOW and check that it’s working.  If you are having difficulty finding the stopcock please contact our office to arrange for us to visit you and confirm its location

To turn off the stopcock turn it in a clockwise direction. This will cut off the water supply to the home.  To turn your water supply back on turn the stopcock anti-clockwise.

Homes that have been constructed more recently will have a Sure Stop device - a blue switch located on the kitchen wall.

Gas Boiler problems
During cold weather pipes leading to your boiler can become frozen resulting in your boiler not working.  If this happens to you, before contacting Clanmil -
• Check the condensate pipe that leads to your boiler. If it is frozen wrap it with a warm towel or hot water bottle to help defrost the ice.
• Check the gas regulator in the meter box. Wrap the meter with a towel to protect it and use a hot water bottle to defrost it. The regulator is a grey metal fitting at the top left-hand side of the meter box. Dry the regulator immediately.

EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBERS

Clanmil Out Of Hours:  028 9042 1010

Please note Clanmil’s offices will be closed on 26/27/28 December 2011

NI Water Faults/Emergency:  084 5744 0088
www.niwater.com
waterline@niwater.com

Flooding Incident Line: 0300 2000 100

Power NI (NI Electricity):  08457 643 643

Phoenix Gas: 084 5455 5555