Get Winter Ready

The Low Down on Drain Down

ALL holiday homes and lodges should be drained down during the winter months, to protect them from burst pipes.

Fresh water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius, and as temperatures rise, it expands by 9% with a significant force. This can destroy pipework, boiler components, taps and shower valves. There are several ways that you can protect your holiday home:

Option 1
Carry out your own drain down at your own risk.

Option 2
Book our skilled teams to do a drain down for you. Please be aware that we can only guarantee drain down services that we carry out before 31st October.

Option 3
Install a Floe system. This provides a simple, thorough, and easy-to-use drain-down process. It can be installed in your boiler cupboard, and training will be given on how to use it. For guidance on using the Floe System, take a look at their video.

Option 4
Many of our new holiday homes and lodges had a floe system included when purchased. If this is your first winter in your holiday home, we recommend you watch this Floe System video to understand how to use your Floe system. As a new customer, if you are still unsure how to use your Floe system, please get in touch using the contact details below, and we will be happy to give you a short lesson.

The Benefits of Installing Heat Trace

Even if you are staying in your holiday home over the winter months with your heating on, the external pipes are at risk of freezing. Heat trace uses a self-regulating heating cable on your external cold water feed pipe. It links to a thermostat, and when the temperature drops to 2°C, it switches on automatically. The system will protect your main water pipe (only), so you can have peace of mind that your water supply to your unit will not freeze, even in the coldest winters. Our skilled team can install a heat trace for you to prevent your main cold water pipe from freezing.

Please note that even with heat trace installed, you will still need to carry out a drain down as internal pipes can still freeze and burst, causing costly repairs. 

Check Boiler Antifreeze Levels

As part of your winter caravan care, we recommend that you get an annual check of anti-freeze levels in your boiler. This can be done by your gas engineer along with your yearly gas safety check.