How To Stop Underground Pipes From Freezing

How To Stop Underground Pipes From Freezing

If there is no water coming out of your taps during the winter, that may be due to the underground piping freezing.

While you will have to book an appointment for professional plumbers to restore the water supply from a frozen underground pipe, there are ways to prevent it from happening again in the future. Regardless of whether you are familiar with the repercussions of frozen pipes or are fortunate and haven’t had to deal with this before, it is good to know what mitigating methods can be applied to help make sure that it stays that way.

Often fairly simple and cost-effective fixes will help prevent your underground pipes from freezing. But we have also mentioned some of the more significant changes that can be made.

Castle Water offers a clear and easy-to-follow Winter Wise guide to customers as a part of our services and to help make sure your business doesn’t suffer from frozen piping. Our water efficiency guidance can also help your business to keep water services costs low all year round. We have recommended below some of the things that you can do - both small and large scale - to protect your business over the winter months.

Keep The Heating On Low

If you have a 9-5 business that shuts over the weekends you should consider keeping the heating on a low setting.

This is because if your plumbing is allowed to go cold for longer periods of time, especially when your business is closed during the festive season, it may end up freezing.

While it may seem like an unnecessary expense, it is much safer than the expense of an emergency plumber call out and pipe repair, or even replacement.

Insulate pipes

If your underground piping has already needed work, insulate them when possible. Consider this; what are underground water pipes made of? Often copper or plastic.

Plastic piping isn’t always resistant to cold weather, so when you have access to them, it’s worth insulating them.

It’s a fairly quick and easy change that can make a significant difference when the bitter cold sets in.

Switch Off The Stop Tap

When you leave work at the end of the day, turn off the stop tap and empty out your taps, the stop tap will shut off your water access.

With no water in your piping, there will be nothing to freeze. Clearing out your taps at the end of each day may feel burdensome, but it will address problems before they have time to arise and without requiring any spending.

Clear Gutters

Blocked gutters can lead to blockages in the piping, and often those blockages will freeze in the winter months.

Even if water can usually squeeze through these blockages, having them through winter can cause a frozen blockage, which could very easily become a burst pipe.

Again, this is a fix that you can do on your own - but is also something that you can hire a professional to carry out if you are short on time.

What to do if your pipe freezes

If your pipe freezes, follow these steps to reduce the chance of the frozen pipe bursting.

• Turn off your water supply at the stopcock.
• Turn off your immersion heater and central heating.
• Turn the cold tap on so any water in the pipe can escape.
• If the water is not draining properly, turn off the tap as this could indicate that the pipe below is frozen. Remember to switch it off as soon as the stream of water stops.
• If you have safe access to the pipe, you can wrap a heated cloth around the point of the freeze to try to thaw it.
• Contact an approved plumber as soon as possible.

What to do when frozen pipes burst

If your frozen pipe bursts, follow these steps fast to minimise damage.

• Turn off your water supply at the stopcock.
• Turn off your immersion heater and central heating.
• Turn off your electricity at the mains if the water has leaked near your electrics or near any appliances.
• Turn on all taps to drain your pipes quickly. Remember to switch the taps off as soon as the stream of water stops.
• Soak up or block off any escaping water with thick towels
• Contact an approved plumber as soon as possible.

More Help from Castle Water

If your business water supplier is not offering assistance and advice on top of their rates, it may be time to switch to Castle Water.

We have worked with thousands of businesses across different sectors in the UK, and pride ourselves on our award-winning customer service.

You can read more about our range of services, which include business water services. If you think your business would benefit from our competitive rates as well as our fantastic support, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.