Winter-preparedness Tips from SOS Leak Detection Ltd

The winter of 2024/2025 is forecast to be a challenging one.

The influence of the ‘La Niña’ climate pattern could bring more extreme conditions, with colder temperatures, heavier rainfall, increased snowfall, and sizeable winter storms.

As winter approaches, ensuring your home or business is ready to withstand these conditions is crucial. Frozen pipes, hidden leaks and unchecked moisture issues can lead to costly damage when temperatures drop.
But there is good news. Preparing now by identifying and addressing any potential problems can prevent or minimise winter-related water damage, protecting your property and avoiding the need for emergency repairs.

Keep your home or business warm and dry this winter with our top tips.

Discover Our Winter Boiler Tips

Don't Let Your Boiler Leave You in the Cold This Winter

When was the last time your boiler was serviced? To avoid a breakdown in the depths of winter, book a service now. A Gas Safe Engineer should perform an annual service to keep it operating safely and efficiently.

You should also monitor your boiler. This is easily done – check the water pressure level is between 1 and 2 bars (this can be adjusted if it isn’t), and that the pilot light flame is blue, not yellow or orange.

You can also regularly bleed your radiators to shift dispersed air pockets – doing this will maximise their heating potential.

Discover Our Heating Tips

Heating On or Heating Off?

During winter it’s a good idea to always leave your heating on, at a constant low temperature. This includes when you are away from home.

You could also open your loft hatch during cold spells – this allows the warmer air in your home to fill up the void in the loft. And keeping your interior doors open can also help to spread heat more efficiently around the property.

Don’t forget, turning your heating on during the warmer months of the year, just for 10 minutes or so, ensures you can address any issues quickly.

Discover Our Winterproofing Tips

Winterproof Your Home, Both Inside and Out

Check for signs of existing leaks and fix them – before winter arrives! Look at your property’s exterior walls and make sure to fix any cracked or questionable pointing or rendering.

It’s also best to turn off or isolate any outdoor water supplies over the winter season.

Insulate pipes with lagging in winter to prevent them from freezing – this includes taps in your garden, and don’t forget your garage or outbuildings too! Also think about pipes indoors – lag any loft pipes and check your header and water tanks are well insulated.

Discover Our Tips on Finding a Leak

Do You Know Where Your Water Shut-off Valve is Located?

Be prepared and find it today!

If you do experience a leak, you will need to be able to turn off the property’s water supply using this valve or stopcock. This will isolate the water supply and prevent further damage. It’s also a good idea to check that the valve is working – these are rarely used, so there is a risk of seizure, but turning it a few times will help.

Why Do Pipes Burst in Winter? Water freezes when temperatures fall. And as the water freezes it expands and turns to ice. It’s this expansion that can cause pipes to crack. But it’s not until temperatures warm up that the real issues begin. As the ice thaws, the water escapes through the split pipes – in some cases the damage can be minimal, but in others it can be catastrophic, leading to flooding and water damage! This is the reason we suggest insulating your pipes and turning off outdoor water supplies for winter.