Look after your water this winter

Follow our top tips to take care of every drop, and keep your home warm and leak free.

Every drip every drop branding over a frozen water pipe
ornament

Your winter water health check

Don't wait until the temperature drops below zero to get your home ready for the cold weather. Taking a few simple steps at the start of winter can help to ensure your home stays cosy, warm and leak free until spring.

For a limited time, we’re offering FREE tap jackets and pipe lagging. Stocks are limited, find the link below to order yours now and get your home winter ready.

1. Look after your boiler

An unexpected spell of cold weather is often the time people find out their boiler or heating system has a problem. Get it serviced at the start of winter and you’ll know it’s fighting fit and working efficiently to keep you warm all winter.

Gas engineer works on a boiler

2. Find your stop tap

If you know exactly where your stop tap is, you’ll be able to turn the water off quicker in an emergency. Stop taps are often located under your kitchen sink, but may also be under the stairs, near your front door or in the pavement outside your home.

Stop tap on a pipe in a garden

3. Going away? Leave the heating on low

If you’re going on holiday or visiting relatives for Christmas and leaving the house empty, don’t forget to keep your heating on low (min 14ºC). This will help to stop your pipes freezing and reduce the chances of coming back to burst pipes and a soggy home.

A finger presses the down button on a heating thermostat

4. Check your outdoor taps

Look for drips, these can freeze and cause a build-up of ice that can cause the pipes to freeze back into your home. Wrap them up or fit a tap jacket.

A frozen outdoor water tap

5. Protect exposed pipes

Look after pipes that are in locations exposed to cold air – the garage, loft or outdoors. Wrap them up with lagging or fit pipe insulation to help prevent them freezing and bursting, then flooding your home when it thaws.

A supply of water pipe insulation lagging

FREE pipe lagging and tap jacket

Order your free pipe lagging and tap jacket, and make sure your home stays cosy, warm and leak free this winter. Limited supply- so order now and prepare your home for the cold weather. 

Get yours now

Water pipe lagging and tap jackets

Did you know, cold weather causes more leaks and bursts in underground water pipes too?

Our leak fixing teams are always busy in the winter, finding and fixing burst mains – stopping every drip possible.
Bristol water engineers working on fixing a burst water pipe

We have to fix more leaks in winter

When the ground freezes it shrinks and moves, putting pressure on underground pipes, which can cause splits and burst mains. The problem is especially bad in older parts of the network.

This means that our fixing teams are often a lot busier than usual in winter, with more chance of supply interruptions. We have to prioritise the big leaks, so it may take a bit longer to fix the smaller ones.

Our contact centre may also receive a lot more calls and messages from customers about frozen and burst pipes. We really appreciate your patience if the wait is a little longer than usual to get through.

If you need extra help in the event of water supply interruption this winter, you can sign up for our Priority Services Register.

Priority Services Register

Who's responsible for burst pipes?

If your pipes freeze and burst this winter, do you know who is responsible for getting them fixed? The diagram below helps explain who is responsible for the pipework in and around your property.

A diagram showing a house and the pipework inside and outside. The diagram shows who’s responsibility the pipework is based on a street boundary.

Diagram: 1. Your external pipework. 2. Your internal pipework and fittings. 3. Our pipework. 3.1 External stop tap. 3.2 Service pipe. 3.3 Water main. 4. Street boundary. 

If one of our pipes has burst

If it's one of our pipes that has burst, please get in contact with us to let us know, so that we can arrange someone to take a look.

Report a leak

A frozen water pipe that has burst and spraying water