Wonderful on Tap

When pipes burst it’s not just the escaping water that’s the problem. Flooding caused by burst pipes can damage walls, ceilings and furniture, all of which must be fixed or replaced, often at great cost.  

Inexpensive foam tubing can act like a jacket, insulating your pipes from icy conditions and prevent water in the pipes from freezing. 

As water freezes, it expands. This can stretch or damage the pipe directly, or cause pressure to build up in other areas of the plumbing which can also damage the pipes. If the frozen water stretches or damages the pipe, when the ice thaws you’ll have a leak and either a reduced supply to your business, or none. 

As well as insulating your pipes, you should drain water from pipes that are likely to freeze, or that have frozen in the past, especially if you’re unlikely to use them over any period while the business might be closed or your buildings empty. 

Keeping the heating on at a low level can help to prevent freezing temperatures causing problems with your plumbing.  

This might seem like large expenditure, especially if your buildings are empty at any point, but the cost of running the heating on low levels can be a lot less than the cost of water damage repairs or a rise in your insurance premium.  

If you have kitchen areas where there are pipes inside cupboards, such as around sinks and appliances, open the cabinet doors so warmer air from heating the building can circulate around the pipes. 

Turning your stop tap off will immediately help to limit the damage caused by a leak or burst pipe in one of your buildings.  

Make sure you, your colleagues and employees all know where to find the stop tap. 

Knowing what condition your plumbing is in is key to protecting it in the winter.   

A small leak is often an indicator of a weak point in a pipe. These weak points are more likely to be where a pipe will burst in cold weather.   

You should: 

• plan to regularly check gutters, drainage points and roof areas to ensure there are no blocked pipes or drains 
• look for leaks in places like washrooms and toilets, and other water equipment like pressure washers 
  
• drain hoses and disconnect them from taps when you’re not using them. 
  

Check your insurance policy to make sure it specifically provides cover for burst pipes and water damage.  

If it doesn’t, it might be worthwhile to add coverage in case you ever do have a leak or burst on your premises. 

The property owner is responsible for maintaining all the pipes between the buildings and the property boundary. If one of those pipes burst or need repairing at all, it can be expensive to fix and clean up the damage.  

You should make contingency plans so your business knows what to do and how it would manage if the water supply was interrupted due to a leak or burst. 

It’s worth spending some time thinking about how you might cope, what you would need to do and which organisations might be able to help you.