Advice: Winter Weather

Winter weather? What? We’re having a heatwave….

All the more reason to make sure that you’re all sorted for the coming winter season. It’s an ideal time to get sorted with either moving your stopcock (to make it easy to get to) or extra insulation around pipework. We would always recommend that you should turn the water off whenever you leave the caravan or lodge.

Knowing the location of, and having easy access to your stop cock is also an essential recommendation. Turning off the water means that in the event of a ‘freeze/burst/thaw’ situation the water won’t be under pressure and should only cause a minimal amount of cosmetic damage. This can mean the difference between a total loss or months of repair work versus replacement carpets or even just dehumidifiers.

Turning off the water, opening the taps and flushing the toilets – a mini drain down if you like – would only take a few minutes would offer a great deal of protection to your property and would offer effective freeze prevention. Of course, the only way to be sure is to have the unit drained down which may also include the use of compressed air to remove all traces of water from the domestic supply.

You'll also need to check your insurance policy too. Many have specific periods where the unit must be drained down or heating left on. It’s worth familiarising yourself with it now in order that you can be sure of your cover during the winter season.

In summary, there will always be the chance of frozen pipework during the Autumn and Winter months – it’s up to you as the caravan owner to decide whether the precautions that you’ve undertaken are enough to prevent damage and/or loss...