Ensure your Student House is Winter Ready!

With the end of term nearing, most of you will shortly be leaving your student property to return home for the festive period. Something you have probably not thought about is ensuring that you’ve left your property in a suitable way for the cold weather whilst your away.

Here is what you need to do ensure that it is winter ready in in good working order on your return!

Reduce Your Electric Bill & Risk of Fire
Go around your property and unplug anything that is not essential, NOT your fridge/freezer! This will reduce the risk of a fire and also keep your energy bill down.

Lock All Doors & Windows
Student properties are often a perfect target for thieves across the UK during holiday periods, as they know that the properties are likely to be empty. Whilst Bangor’s crime rate is on the low side, triple check you’ve locked all your doors on windows before you’ve left and avoid being an easy target.

Avoid Burst or Frozen Pipes
This is probably the most common occurrence but the one that less people actually think about before leaving. You’ve probably already felt the drop in temperate over recent weeks and it will only continue to decrease, but properties left empty for long periods of times during freezing temperatures can cause pipes to become frozen and subsequently burst.

There are a few different things you could do to prevent this from happening.

1.      Set the heating to a timer to come on for an hour or so first thing in the morning or later in the night when the temperatures tend to be at its lowest.

2.      If your not going away for too long, you could leave the heating on a low temperate throughout, at around 12°c.

3.      With the current energy price situation, understandably leaving the heating on may not be preferable. Draining down the plumbing and heating system can greatly reduce the risk of a burst pipe as there is no water in them to freeze. If the cold does freeze the pipe, it will just defrost. However, there is no guarantee with this method, as there may still be some trapped water left in the system after draining. Any damage would be limited but it wont be apparent if this has been successful until your back in the property and the system is back up and running. It is safer to stay in the house to check on your return.

Don’t Leave Any Valuables
Anything of value and sentimental value should be taken with you. As mentioned earlier, empty properties can often be a target over holiday periods so taking these items with you will avoid any theft of them in the unfortunate event of a break in.

Clean & Tidy
We know what it can be like when you’re packing for a trip, your rushing around, creating mess and then you have to rush off. But try and leave enough time that your able to clean the property before you leave. You’ll be thankful that you emptied the bins, cleaned the toilet and changed your bedding when you return!

Contact our student team if you are unsure or concerned about anything whilst you are away.
01248 35 35 44
students@dafyddhardy.co.uk