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Home > Insurance > Home Insurance > Home Plumbing Tips >

Home Plumbing Tips

Protect your home against water damage

A good place to start is with any exposed pipes, inside or outside your home, which may be at risk from freezing and splitting in cold weather.

Preventing frozen pipes

• Insulate external pipes and any internal ones that are exposed to freezing, paying attention to corners and elbows of pipework as these tend to be the most exposed.
• Turn off any indoor valves on pipes leading to taps outside your home. Then open the outside tap and leave it open to let any water drain. This will ensure there's no water in the pipes to freeze.
• In cold weather, check all your taps in your home from time to time. If little or no water flows there may be frozen water in the pipes.
• If you're away from home during the winter, ask someone to check your home - this should help ensure burst pipes are spotted early and any damage is kept to a minimum.

Preventing water leaks

• Know where to find your stopcock and use it to cut off the flow of water if a pipe starts leaking. AA research shows that one in three homeowners don't know where their stopcock is.
• Fix any dripping taps as soon as possible to avoid a more a serious escape of water.

Home central heating

• Have the central heating system in your home checked and serviced regularly. Try to get your boiler serviced in the summer to ensure that it's working efficiently before the winter comes.
• During the summer put the heating on for 15 minutes once a month. This should help clear grit from the boiler pump and will give you a chance to check that the system is working properly.
• If you are away from home in the winter, set your central heating to come on for a short period each day to prevent freezing. Don't be tempted to turn the heating off while you're away.

Loft insulation in your home

A burst pipe in the loft could lead to serious water damage and the risk of a collapsed ceiling, so making sure your loft is well insulated in preparation for freezing temperatures is really worth the effort.

• Apply foam insulation to pipes in your loft and make sure joints and bends are covered. Lay the foam on top of the pipes and not beneath them.
• Make sure your water storage tank is well insulated, particularly if you think it's in a position where it may be at risk from freezing in very cold weather.
• When the weather is particularly cold, open the loft hatch to allow warmer air from the rest of your home to circulate in the loft.

If you're looking for home insurance you can get a quote online with AA Home Insurance.

For just £20.28 you can add Home Emergency Cover to your buildings insurance policy. Home Emergency Cover provides a 24-hour emergency helpline and assistance with many household emergencies, including burst pipes.