Be Prepared

Winter is upon us and it is important at this time to think about how to protect your property against potentially costly damage during the cold weather season.

Be prepared for the frost by following these useful preventative tips:

• Insulate your lofts (where possible), sides of your water tanks and all pipes with good quality lagging.
• Open loft hatches on cold days so that warmer air can circulate from the floors below.
• If your property is going to be empty at all through the winter, ask someone to check it regularly to watch out for frozen or burst pipes or consider draining down the system. Please note that certain exclusions apply to your buildings insurance if your property is unoccupied for a certain amount of time. Our customers whose insurance is placed through us can view their policy for full details.
• Fit new washers to dripping taps so that they don’t freeze and block the pipe.
• Keep your heating on at low temperatures during very cold spells and take advantage of frost protection thermostats on heaters.

Scottish Water has published this handy guide with advice on how to protect your pipes from the cold and what to do if they succumb to the harsh weather: Be Prepared for Winter

Insurers, LV, have also provided an informative guide for keeping your home and belongings safe over the winter period: Be Prepared -Winter Home-2018

In the event of an emergency, these contact details, supplied by The Scottish Government, of organisations who can help if you lose electricity, gas or water may be of help:
Loss of Electricity, Water or Gas Contacts

And if you are a landlord, we would recommend you share this advice with your tenants.