Frozen pipes warning and advice

With the continued freezing weather conditions across Greater Manchester, we’d like to make our customers aware of warnings from United Utilities. United Utilities have warned that these ongoing freezing temperature may cause pipes inside and outside our homes to freeze, causing water supplies to go off in our homes. 

If you are struggling with no water it may be that your pipes are frozen. We’ve therefore compiled the information below to tell you what to do if this happens to you.

Thawing out a frozen pipe

To thaw out your frozen pipe you need to do the following;

1.    Turn off your stop tap, usually found under your kitchen sink.
2.    Turn on your cold tap in the kitchen
3.    If you have no water use a warm towel and if you can get water from a neighbour or elsewhere you could try a hot water bottle to slowly thaw the pipe. Please be warned this could take long a period of time depending on how frozen and big your pipes are.
4.    Do not use a blow torch or any kind of naked flame to try and thaw the pipe, as this could cause more damage.
5.    Switch your stop tap back on to see if the water is running and check for any burst pipes in your home.
6.    If you do have a burst pipe when your water comes back on please visit the United Utilities burst pipes page.
7.    If your water doesn’t come back on, you will need to check with your home insurance company to see if you are covered for frozen pipes or call a plumber. You can find an approved plumber here.

Visited the United Utilities website to find out more about frozen pipes and how to avoid them in the future.  Frozen pipes (unitedutilities.com)