Winter Action Plan for Tenants

WINTER ACTION PLAN:

 

1. Prevent your pipes/boiler from freezing:

Leave your heating on. One of the main causes of frozen pipes/boilers is switching the heating off. At night turn the heating down low rather that turning it off, this helps to heat pipes and maintain a balanced temperature throughout the property. It is especially important to do this, if you are going away or leaving your home unattended for a long period of time, the last thing you want is to come home and find your home has been flooded.

You can achieve this by turning both your room thermostat down or by turning your radiators thermostatic valves down.

 

You can also use the “frost” setting (usually marked with a snowflake symbol) on your room thermostats to keep the house above freezing.

   

Note: Heating costs at these temperatures are low and very little oil will be used by the boiler.

 

You can also lift the trap door slightly from the roof space to allow warm air to rise into the loft, thus preventing the pipework from freezing or cold water tanks.

 

You can also open the doors to your kitchen base unit at the sink to stop pipes freezing at the mains supply.

 

2. If my pipes are frozen, what next:

  1. Turn the water supply of at the stopcock.
  2. Most occasions pipes are frozen in the roof space or below sink units.
  3. Use hot water bottles or a thick cloth soaked in hot water over the frozen pipe or use a hairdryer at its lowest setting to thaw the pipes. Be careful not to warm them too quickly or they may burst.
  4. Don’t allow a blow lamp or naked flame as this may cause damage to your pipes or lead to a fire in your home.

 

3. If you have a burst pipe:

  1. Turn off the water supply at the stopcock (Normally under the kitchen sink)
  2. Try to minimise the escaping water with towels.
  3. Turn on all the taps to drain the system down.
  4. If the water has come into contact with electrical fittings the electricity should be turned off at the mains and Contact Rural HA

028 8224 6118

 

4. How to drain your heating system down:

  1. If you intend to leave your home during the holiday period contact Rural HA who will be happy to arrange for your heating system to be drained down by a qualified Plumbing Engineer as a temporary measure while you’re away.
  2. To drain the heating system down correctly, The Association will arrange to have the following carried out.

 

  1. Turn water off at the mains and drain the system down.
  2. Drain all the radiators down.
  3. Drain the hot water storage tank down.

 

By doing this you will protect your property from potential damage and flooding. 

A cold home, not heated over an extended extreme cold period can lead to serious damage to the fabric of the dwelling, if not drained or heated.

IMPORTANT: It is a tenant’s responsibility to ensure this doesn’t happen. The onus is on each individual tenant to inform Rural Housing Association, if you intend to have your property vacant over Christmas. Tenants are also reminded that it is the responsibility of the tenant to insure they have in place home contents insurance to protect against damage to, or loss of, an individual's personal possessions whilst they are located within their individual home.

 

5.  What should I do if I have no water:

  1. If your water supply fails, you either have a burst pipe inside your home, or a leak in the mains water supply, or the water is turned off.
  2. If you think it’s the mains supply, call NI Water (refer to Emergency Contact Details)
  3. If a leak is detected within your home call Rural Housing Association/Telecare.

 

 

6. Help your neighbour:

 

The cold weather can be a difficult time for people who are vulnerable.

 

If you know someone who is elderly, has a disability, or is housebound, check on them and make sure they are comfortable. During an extreme cold weather period many elderly people may not be able to get out and a visit maybe appreciated.

 

 

EMERGENCY CONTACT DETAILS:

In 2010, Rural HA appointed Telecare, a leading provider of telephone support in N Ireland. We use their services after normal working hours, allowing the Telecare team to deal with emergency repairs on a 24 hours basis over holiday periods. When you report a repair Telecare will contact your area contractor, who in turn will contact you directly and arrange a time to call. Please note

 

Telecare only deal with Emergencies. Routine repairs should be reported during normal working hours after the holiday period.

 

Call Rural HA (during office hours)                  028 8224 6118

 

Rural HA website                            www.ruralhousing.co.uk

 

Telecare (outside office hours)               028 9042 1010

 

Northern Ireland Electricity                      08457 643 643

 

Northern Ireland Water                                      08457 440 088

 

Flooding incident line                               03002000100