With all of the festivities, winter is typically the most memorable season of the year. But without preparing for the challenging climatic conditions of the season, it can be memorable for all the wrong reasons. Instead of looking back on fond memories – delighted faces unwrapping presents, laughs around the dinner table, and Christmas carols, the season can instead be marred by memories of a bathroom that doesn’t work and a hefty repairs bill. To ensure your winter passes without incident, we have put together this list of things to watch out for.
Frozen pipes
When temperatures drop below freezing, water turning into ice becomes a very real possibility. While, on the surface, this doesn’t seem especially catastrophic, if water freezes in the wrong part of the home, the consequences can be very costly. At best, a frozen pipe cuts off water to your home and you have to spend hours carefully thawing it with a hairdryer and a heated cloth. At worst, a frozen pipe bursts and floods your home with water. Even the best case scenario is reason enough to put preventative measures in place.
So, what can you do to ward off the threat of frozen pipes? Your first port of call should be to get your hands on some lagging material. By wrapping lagging around your home’s pipes you give them some much needed insulation, affording them protection from the threat of freezing temperatures.
If you know you are going to be away, you can leave the thermostat on, although this is an admittedly expensive way to ward off disaster. Central heating pumps can help heat your home incredibly efficiently, ensuring none of your money is wasted on heating.
Cold floors
In the pitch black mornings of winter, there is only one thing worse than trying to wrench yourself out of bed: walking into the bathroom and wincing at the icy embrace of freezing cold bathroom tiles. There are a number of ways you can approach this problem. The most straightforward and most affordable solution is to buy a warm and inviting rug. Less cost-effective but more of a long-term solution is choosing to install underfloor heating.
Poor water pressure
A high quality shower is often the only bright spot in otherwise dark and gloomy winter mornings. When the flow of water from a shower head is disappointingly low, it is something that needs rectifying. Assuming it isn’t the fault of your water provider, in which case you’ll have to wait until they have finished addressing whatever incident has occurred for normal working order to be restored, this problem can be easily resolved. Installing a shower pump will bolster the flow of water to your shower and indefinitely lift the gloom of disappointing showers.
By following the tips in this list, your bathroom should be thoroughly prepared for winter and all of the obstacles it can pose. From frozen pipes, to freezing cold floors, and poor water pressure, your winter and Christmas should be free of these seasonal hazards.
