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Frozen and burst pipes

This is most peoples' worst nightmare in the winter and the cause of many insurance claims. Don't let this be you

Frozen pipes and your boiler

During very cold winters our repairs service often gets lots of calls due to frozen condensate pipes which discharge from gas boilers to the outside drain or gulley.

The pipe comes from the bottom of your boiler and goes outside into the drain. It is made of white, grey or black plastic and can freeze in the winter.The purpose of the condensate pipe is to vent moisture from your boiler safely to the outside drain.

Thaw pipes safely and easily

You should only attempt to thaw a condense pipe that is at ground level and which is easily accessible to you. Under no circumstances should you attempt to thaw a condense pipe heigh up without the assistance of a professionally trained engineer.

In cold weather the condensate pipe can freeze, even if insulated. If this happens your boiler will automatically shut down and leave you without central heating and hot water.

There are a couple of ways to tell if your condensate pipe is frozen. You may hear some bubbling sounds coming from the boiler or the pipe itself. There may also be a warning light or fault code E133 flashing on your boiler.

If the pipe freezes it should really be thawed by a heating engineer who will also give you advice to stop the pipe from freezing again. If you want to try thawing it out yourself follow these instructions very carefully:

• Warm some water in the kettle (do not use boiling water as this could crack the pipe or scald you)
• Stand away from the wall and gently pour the warm water onto the frozen pipe
• Repeat until pipe has thawed (this may take several attempts)

It might be a good idea to use rubber gloves when doing this in case the water is too hot to handle.

Warning!

• Do not rush thawing the pipe by using water that is too hot
• Always make sure that you are standing at ground level when pouring water onto the pipe
• Never disconnect the pipe

Once thawed, the boiler must be reset. You can do this by holding or turning the reset button in for 5 seconds and then waiting a few seconds for the boiler to refire. If you are still experiencing problems after doing this, please contact our Repairs Contact Centre team on 0115 915 2222.

Other burst pipes in your home

• Make sure you know where the main stop tap is and check regularly that you can turn it
• Turn taps off fully
• Keep your heating on a low setting, rather than turning the heating on and off for short periods of time
• Make sure thermostatic radiator valves are on the frost setting in rooms you don't use, and not turned off
• If you do not have central heating allow some heat to circulate into colder rooms
• Turn off your mains water supply if you are going to be away from home for more than a few days.

Then if cold weather is forecast, you will be in a better position to know what to do and not panic.

If a water pipe freezes:

• Turn off the water at the main stop tap (make sure you know where it is)
• Let pipes thaw out naturally - do not try to thaw them by using a hair drier or blow lamp. With metal pipes in particular, the ice in them can expand and crack the pipes.

If a water pipe bursts:

• Turn off the water at the main stop tap (make sure you know where it is)
• Put a bowl or towels under the leak to soak up the water
• Switch off your central heating or immersion heater
• Turn on all taps to drain water from the system - this may take about 15 minutes
• When the water stops running, turn all the taps off.

If any electrics are getting wet, do not touch them. Do not turn anything on or off. Then contact us on 0115 915 2222.

Find more tips and useful advice in your Repairs Handbook.