Winter Weather

Winter Weather Tips

If you have a central heating system, you may also have a room thermostat to monitor and control the temperature in your home – it sends a signal to the boiler telling it to switch off when the house is warm enough.  It’s usually found in a hallway or sitting room.

Some modern heating controls now combine a heating timer and the thermostat, allowing you to set different temperatures for different times of the day.

Below 13° – If your home is this cold, it may increase your blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease.

14-15° – If your home is this cold, you may be diminishing your resistance to respiratory diseases.

16° is the recommended night time bedroom temperature.

19-21° is the recommended daytime temperature range for occupied rooms.

24-27º is too warm and can put babies and young children at risk.

Keeping Warm

  1. Set your heating to come on just before you get up and switch off just before you go to bed. If it’s very cold, set it to stay on longer, rather than turning the thermostat up.
  2. Close the curtains when it’s getting dark. Tuck them behind the radiator and shut the doors to rooms you use most to keep the heat in.
  3. Stay warm with a hot water bottle or electric blanket – but don’t use both at the same time.
  4. Off mains gas or electricity? Keep a sufficient fuel supply to avoid running out in winter.
  5. Have regular hot drinks and eat at least one hot meal a day if possible. Eating regularly helps keep energy levels up during winter.

Top Tips

  • Radiator reflectors
  • Tape up cat flaps or things causing drafts
  • Sofa blankets
  • Draft stoppers
  • Hot drinks
  • Thick curtains
  • Let daylight in during the day
  • Don’t obstruct the radiators
  • Hot water bottles
  • Layers – warm clothes
  • Onesies – hoodies

Storms :

Please during storm season , be mindful of any bad weather due .  If there are items in the gardens make them secure.  Don’t leave windows open or not on a latch. All doors secure.

As a  tenant it is really important that you have your own contents insurance.  Without contents insurance your belongings are not protected against any damage caused in your rented property.  You cannot expect your landlord to reimburse you for items lost or damaged if the property floods.

The property you rent is your home and you have a certain duty to look after it.

  • Make sure you know where the stopcock and the mains electricity switch for the property are located.
  • Check that you have property management contact details
  • Inform us  if you are going to be away from the property during a period of bad weather.

If your pipes do freeze, you will need to act quickly to reduce the risk of them bursting.  You should:

  • Turn the water supply off at the stopcock.
  • Try to thaw the pipes, by placing warm towels or a hot water bottle on them or using a hairdryer on its lowest setting.  Pipes must be thawed slowly, never use a blowtorch or exposed flame.

If the worst happens and the pipes burst, you should:

  • Turn the water supply off at the stopcock.
  • Inform your landlord.
  • Try to stop any escaping water with blankets, buckets or towels.
  • Turn off your central heating, immersion heater and any other water heating systems.
  • Drain the system by turning on all your taps and flushing the toilet several times.
  • Check if there is a risk of electrocution and switch of the mains electricity supply if there is.
  • Inform any neighbours who may be affected.

if something happens to cause damage in your home, you must notify us immediately.

You’ll need to report the following:

  • What has happened.
  • What damage has been caused.
  • What, if anything, you have done to try to repair the situation.
  • Whether the damage has affected neighbouring properties.
  • Whether the property is habitable.

As with all repairs that the landlord is responsible for, your landlord will have to make steps to carry out repairs within a reasonable timeframe.  In some cases, the landlord’s insurance company may cause a delay or the landlord may have difficulty finding a plumber or electrician if lots of other people are having similar problems.

Holiday Period

All tenants must ensure precautions to be taken to protect properties from the results of freezing.

Over the holiday period, many tenants will wish to go away and visit relatives and friends. I would ask you to observe some simple precautions if you intend to be away from the property for longer than 24 hours during the winter period (from the beginning of December to the end of April).

For most properties it will be necessary to: –

Keep the central heating on a low or normal setting to maintain a temperature of between 55/60 degrees F and leave the trap door to the roof space open; OR – Turn off the water supply and shut down and drain any central heating boiler and associated pipework.

To do this, you will need to turn off the water supply at the main stopcock and open all taps, hot and cold, to drain water from roof storage tank and pipes.

Circulating water central heating systems will also need to be drained (and refilled on return before re-starting).

Whilst this is general advice, the characteristics of each individual property may be slightly different. If you are unsure how to take appropriate measures to protect the property whilst you are away, or if you plan to be away for a week or more, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you are leaving the property for long period of time through the winter months , please inform us so we can make arrangements to keep a check on it.