Scottish Water issues warning over frozen pipes - and how to prevent bursts

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scottish Water has warned about pipes becoming 'very vulnerable' during the current cold snap which has seen Scotland wake up to snow and subzero temperatures today.The country could be plunged into blizzard conditions as four days of weather warnings across numerous parts of the country have been issued by the Met Office.Winter weather could damage property and impact roads, and now Scottish Water has urged people to make sure that their pipes are prepared for the cold spell to avoid bursts and flooding.The key advice about pipes is to heat, insulate and protect, according to the national water supplier - here is how you can do just that.Modern central heating systems have frost protection built in, which will fire up the boiler if needed, even when your heating is turned off.

If you don’t have frost protection built into your boiler, then set the heating thermostat to 10C and the programmer to 'On' or 24hr.

The heating will only come on if the temperature inside your home drops below 10C, so it shouldn’t use a lot of energy and it could help prevent frozen pipes and expensive repairs.

Pipes don’t like the cold – whether they are outdoor or indoor, metal or plastic, new or old. Making sure pipes and water tanks are properly insulated is one of the simplest and cheapest things which can be done to help protect properties from the cold.