Beast from the East: How can you prevent your pipes from freezing as temperatures plummet?

Yorkshire Water has issued an appeal for people to be prepared as freezing temperatures blown in by the Beast from the East threaten burst pipes and shortages across the county.
How can you prevent your pipes from freezing this week?How can you prevent your pipes from freezing this week?
How can you prevent your pipes from freezing this week?

The mercury is set to fall well below zero this week as Siberian winds and showers are blown in from the east across the whole of Yorkshire.

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Met Office officials have already urged caution with both yellow, and the more serious, Amber warnings being issued for much of the county over the coming four days. 

How can you prevent your pipes from freezing this week?How can you prevent your pipes from freezing this week?
How can you prevent your pipes from freezing this week?

Elderly people, the very young and household pets are expected to be most at risk as the big chill settles in with welfare groups already urging caution for extra care to be given.

Now Yorkshire Water has issued its own statement in a bid to prevent, and then deal with, burst pipes across the county.

Already this winter, the Yorkshire Water team has been called upon to fix 851 burst pipes but officials expect that number to rise sharply.

How can you prevent your pipes from freezing this week?How can you prevent your pipes from freezing this week?
How can you prevent your pipes from freezing this week?
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The firm is committed to reduce its leakage rate by a massive 40 per cent by 2025, bringing in up to 70 new leakage inspectors to add to the 200 already in place. Yorkshire Water is also embracing cutting edge technology such as drones and satellites to detect underground leaks.

Yorkshire Water Head of Water Distribution, Andrew Roach said: “Freezing conditions could lead to our customers struggling with frozen and burst pipes.

“We want to help them out as much as possible, which is why we have removed the time limit on the number of free supply pipe repairs customers can receive. This means household properties are no longer limited to one free supply pipe repair every two years.

“We want to help people get prepared by offering them lots of advice and offers to help protect their homes in advance of winter.”

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Customers are advised to take the below simple steps to make their homes winter-ready:

* Protect all exposed pipe work, cisterns, tanks, taps and water meters in unheated areas with waterproof foam lagging or insulation

* Know where the stop tap is located at the property in case it needs to be turned off in an emergency. The main stop tap is usually found at the point where the pipe work enters the premises, often it is under the kitchen sink

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* Make sure you keep a plumber’s number handy in case of an emergency

* Keep homes warm - set central heating on a low heat or a 24-hour constant setting. If going away on holiday tell a neighbour or friend so that they can check to make sure there have been no burst pipes 

Customers can report a leak on the Yorkshire Water website: https://www.yorkshirewater.com/report/