With the Met Office warning this week that the weather is about to turn, with rain, frost and severe gales on the way, Severn Trent is encouraging people to make some small changes to help prepare their homes this winter.  

From protecting pipes to looking for leaky loos and taps, Severn Trent is asking customers to ‘weather the winter together’, and share these handy tips with family, friends and neighbours in order to protect homes from the cold snap and ensure money is saved through avoiding unnecessary and costly issues. 

Jonathon Wroe, Network Control Business Lead at Severn Trent, said: “Dealing with clogged drains and burst pipes should be the last thing our customers need to worry about over the winter period, and there are a few small steps everyone can take to avoid any unnecessary and costly issues.   

“In the kitchen, it’s easy to assume that warm grease and leftovers from your dinner are ok to be put down the sink, if you wash it down with hot soapy water, but the reality is that fats and greases solidify quite quickly in the pipes. This can lead to a blockage which can be costly to fix and can cause a huge disruption, something nobody would want to experience. It’s much better to pour any leftover fat, oil, or grease into a container to cool before disposing of it in the bin.  

“Colder temperatures can also cause big problems for water pipes that are exposed above ground. So before the winter weather hits us, we’re encouraging customers to prepare by lagging any household pipes that might be exposed to cold temperatures and covering any external taps. Lagging pipes is an easy job to do and can potentially save homeowners thousands of pounds as bursts are not only devastating but messy and expensive to fix.   

“While we encourage customers to look after their pipes, our teams are also working hard to prevent bursts on our network, so if you do spot anything that doesn’t look right when out and about, please let us know and we’ll get it fixed as soon as possible.” 

Here’s Jonathon’s easy tips for preparing your home this winter: 

Around the home:

·         Protect your pipes using pipe insulation to cover pipes in unheated areas of your home (such as lofts, roofs, outbuildings and garages)   

·         Cover your outdoor tap to prevent it from freezing 

·         Make sure you know where to find your stop tap and check that it works  

In the bathroom:

·         Check for and fix leaky loos and taps  

·         Only flush the 3Ps - pee, poo and toilet paper and keep a bin in your bathroom for all unflushable items such as, sanitary towels, tampons, nappies and wipes

In the kitchen:

·         Use kitchen roll to soak up grease from plates and pans before washing up   

·         Collect used cooking oil, fat and grease into a container, jar or tin and put it in the bin once cool  

More information on preparing your home for winter can be found here.  

If you do run into problems this winter, with either slow drains or a blocked sewer which is Severn Trent’s responsibility you can report it at www.stwater.co.uk or by calling 0800 783 4444. Our teams both in the call centre and in the field work all day, every day, so even on Christmas Day we’ll be here to help out with any problems our customers might have.  

For customers struggling to pay their bills over winter, Severn Trent has a number of support schemes available to help – more information can be found here. 

Severn Trent is also reminding customers that it has a Priority Service Register, to make sure those who need extra help in case of issues with supply are supported. The company is encouraging customers, friends or family to let them know of anyone who might benefit from being checked on, or who needs a certain supply in case of an issue on the network. More information on the Priority Service Register can be found here.