Holidays
Burst pipes
Burst pipes result from the water in the plumbing system expanding as it freezes and can cause a major flood. You are responsible for ensuring that this does not happen. To do this, you should:
If you have a central heating system, set the heating to 'constant' and the thermostat to the lowest setting (e.g. 10°C). This will prevent the household temperature from getting below freezing.
If you have a pre-payment (key or card) meters, ensure there is enough credit to last throughout the time that you are away.
Drain down the plumbing, if you do not have a central heating and a thermostat. To do this, you need to turn the water off at the stop tap, then drain the pipes by running all the outlets in the house. Check now to ensure you know where to find the stop tap (usually under the kitchen sink, or somewhere near the front of the property), and let us know if you can't locate it.
Legionella risks after being away
If you plan to leave your property empty for over a week, please let us know as we may need to visit to flush the water systems to keep them safe from legionella growth.
When returning from some time away, safely flush all water outlets to ensure that you do not inhale any potentially harmful bacteria (it can be dangerous if droplets get into your lungs). The best way to do this is to:
Turn on hot and cold taps sequentially throughout the property and allow them to run for at least two minutes.
Shower heads can be put in a plastic bag or bucket of water and run to minimise spray.
Toilets should be flushed with the lids down.
Remember any garden taps, or less-used outlets.
If you have a hot water tank, make sure you give it time to fully heat up before using hot water (raising the temperature over 60°C for an hour kills most bacteria)
Get in touch if you need any more help on this.
Security
As a kind of antithesis to Santa, burglars can often target properties at Christmas time.
If possible, don't leave valuable items at the property- or at least not where they can be seen.
The last person out needs to double check every door and window is secure. Don't forget garden gates- easy access to a secluded back garden is ideal for a burglar.