Winter Advice

Before the weather gets cold, spend a little time checking your home.
Making sure things work now means repairs can be done before winter arrives.

Check pressure – this should be between 1 and 1.5 bar. If it’s below 1, your radiators won’t heat up properly. Top up the pressure until it reaches 1 bar.

Turn your heating on – check the boiler fires up correctly and radiators are warming up.

Find your stopcock and check it works so you can turn the water off in an emergency until help arrives.

It’s the little tap or lever on pipes, often found under your sink.

Most sinks, baths, boilers and toilets have isolation valves that can be turned off in the event of a leak.

Find where these are so you know how to turn the water off.

If your boiler stops working, the outside pipe that carries water from it may have frozen. You can often fix this yourself.

– Find the white plastic pipe outside that runs from your boiler to a drain.
– If you can reach it safely, hold a hot water bottle against the pipe for a few minutes.
– Reset your boiler and check it is working again.

If the top of a radiator feels cold, you may need to bleed it.

– Turn the heating off and let the radiator cool.
– Have a cloth ready for any drips.
– Use a radiator key to turn the valve anti‑clockwise until you hear hissing.
– When water starts to come out, close the valve.
– Check your boiler pressure and top it up if it has dropped.

If you are given temporary heaters, please follow these safety tips:

– Use only the heaters given to you by Amey or VIVO.
– Put the heater on a flat, stable surface, away from curtains, paper, or anything that can burn.
– Keep at least 1 metre away from anything flammable.
– Plug the heater straight into a wall socket — don’t use extension leads.
– Use no more than 3 heaters at the same time, or the power may trip.
– Never leave heaters on when you’re not in the room. Turn them off before bed.
– Keep the heater’s air vents clear.
– If a heater looks damaged, tell us straight away.
– Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for that heater.

If you’re going away during cold weather, you can do a few simple things to keep your home safe:

– Ask a trusted friend or neighbour to hold your keys and check your home while you’re gone.
– Leave your heating on low or use the frost‑protection setting. This helps stop your pipes from freezing and bursting.

If you’re hosting Christmas dinner, you’ll want to check that you’re able to cook it!

Turn your oven AND hobs on at the same to check everything is in working order.

You must get your own home liability insurance of at least £20,000.
The Service Insurance and Investment Advisory Panel (SIIAP) has a list of insurance companies that can give you the right ‘Licence to Occupy’ cover for SFA homes.