Keeping your home warm this winter: An important reminder

With the arrival of colder weather, we want to share a few important reminders and tips for keeping your home warm and comfortable during the winter months. Proper heating protects the property from the cold and helps you avoid issues like mould and burst pipes.

 

Why proper heating is essential

• Preventing frozen and burst pipes: When temperatures drop, water in unheated pipes can freeze and expand, causing them to burst. A burst pipe can lead to significant water damage and costly repairs. By running your heating, you help prevent this from happening.
• Controlling damp and mould: Consistent, low-level heating helps to manage the internal humidity and temperature of your home. This prevents condensation from forming on cold surfaces, which is the primary cause of mould and damp.
• Ensuring your comfort: A consistently warm home is a healthy home. Maintaining a comfortable temperature prevents your living space from becoming unpleasantly cold and helps you stay well throughout the winter.

 

Using your heating efficiently
To prevent expensive heating bills, consider these efficient heating strategies:

• Use the timer: Instead of turning your heating off completely, set it to come on for a few hours in the morning and evening at a low-but-steady temperature. This is more efficient than letting the property get very cold and then trying to heat it quickly.
• Maintain a low, background temperature: If you are going away for a short period, keep the heating on at a low “frost protection” setting (around 12–15°C) to prevent pipes from freezing.
• Bleed your radiators: If a radiator is cold at the top but warm at the bottom, it likely has trapped air. Learning to bleed a radiator is a simple task that improves its efficiency. You can find many how-to guides online.

We have how-to videos on how to repressurise your boiler and bleed radiators on our website: Videos to help solve problems in your home

 

What to do if you go away
If you plan to be away from the property for more than a couple of days during cold weather, please remember to:

• Leave your heating on a low background setting to prevent pipes from freezing.
• Check your tenancy agreement or inform us if you plan to be away for an extended period, as this may affect the property’s insurance.
• Ensure we have your up-to-date emergency contact details.
• Turn off your water on the mains (stop tap)

 

Struggling with heating costs

If you are worried about your financial situation and not sure how you’ll manage to pay your bills and rent – help is available.
Our Team are here to help and refer you to help from other places.

Get in touch with us as soon as possible. Our Team have years of experience and a lot of information to help you find solutions to your worries.

 

Your responsibilities as a tenant
As a tenant, you are responsible for using the heating system correctly and reporting any issues promptly. If you notice a fault with the boiler or heating system, please get in touch with us as soon as possible so we can arrange a repair.