News

From binning cooled cooking fat, oil and grease to lagging pipes and reporting leaks, Severn Trent is encouraging customers to make some small changes to help prepare their homes this winter.    

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

“It’s easy to assume that the warm grease and fat left over from your dinner would be ok to put down the sink, as long as you wash it down with a lot of hot soapy water. But the reality is that fats and greases cool and solidify quite quickly once in the pipes, often leading to a blockage which can be costly to fix and can cause a big mess, 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. 

“At the same time, freezing temperatures can cause huge problems for water pipes. 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 a really 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 any leaks or bursts on our network. So if you do spot a leak while you’re out and about, please do let us know so we can get it fixed as soon as possible.”  

Jonathon’s top tips for preparing your home this winter: 

• Protect your pipes using pipe insulation to cover pipes tanks 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 
• Check for and fix leaky loos and taps 
• 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 
• 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 (unless they show the ‘Fine to Flush’ symbol) 

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.