If you have frozen pipes in Cheshire then call Causeway

Heating and plumbing questions? Check out the series of how to videos on our site

We want our customers, our potential customers and, in fact, as many people as possible to feel fully equipped with as much knowledge about their homes as possible. Of course there will be times when you absolutely need to call a professional heating engineer right away but there are plenty of small tasks that you can do yourself, to keep your central heating in good working order.

It just makes good sense to know as much as possible about the machinery in your home. For that reason, we have collected together a series of ‘how to’ videos, created by Worcester. Hopefully you’ll find them helpful. If you do, or if there are any other topics that you’d like to see videos on then please get in touch and tell us.

Today we’ll talk you through the guidance provided in the video on how to unfreeze a frozen condensate pipe. Of course, if you have frozen pipes, Cheshire householders can also contact us direct to discuss the problem.

Unfreezing frozen pipes, Cheshire and beyond

We love that, using these videos, we are now helping people all over the world with their heating. Frozen pipes? Cheshire and Northwest based homeowners can give us a call but if you’re further afield these videos can still help. Simply check out the helpful video on how to unfreeze a frozen condensate pipe, which you’ll find in the gallery section of our site.

Guidance on how to unfreeze a frozen condensate pipe

This guidance video has been produced by manufacturer Worcester. We recommend that you watch the full video and heed the warnings before attempting to enact any of the guidance but here is an overview of that guidance, at a glance.

All combi boilers produce condensate and installers can choose to run the condensate pipe on the outside of an external wall. This isn’t wrong. It’s fine to run a condensate pipe externally but doing so can lead to the pipe freezing in cold weather, particularly if the manufacturer’s guidance hasn’t been followed closely. If your condensate pipe freezes, your boiler can stop working. To unfreeze it and get things working again, you have three options:

1. Apply a hot water bottle to the pipe.
2. Apply a heat wrap to the pipe, of the sort that you might get for a muscle injury. These kinds of packs are available from a pharmacy.
3. Pour warm water onto the pipe. This is the most effective method of defrosting a pipe but it comes with a few important considerations. Firstly, the water should only ever be warm, no hotter. Boiling water could be damaging. Also do not attempt to do this if the pipe is above ground level, where it could be dangerous.

Once your pipe has thawed, it’s a good idea to get your installer back to properly insulate it, to ensure that the same thing doesn’t happen again. If you have frozen pipes in Cheshire, we can do that for you.

As well as this one, there are plenty more ‘how to’ videos in our gallery section now too, so whatever problem you’re facing with your heating system head there and take a look.

For boiler installations and breakdowns, plumbing, heating repairs and frozen pipes Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester contact Causeway.