Here's the Beast way to get winter-proofed

THE “Beast from the East” has been causing temperatures across the UK to drop below freezing this week — with up to eight inches of snow predicted in some areas.

With that in mind, estate and letting agents Romans have put together some top tips for protecting your home and keeping it warm and cosy during the cold snap...

1. Use your curtains. Open your curtains to let in as much sunlight as possible and make the most of the free heat it gives throughout the day. But when it gets dark, close your curtains to add another layer of insulation keeping the warm air inside the room.

2. Readjust the timers on your central heating. No one likes getting out of bed in the morning, particularly if the room is freezing cold. Set the heating to come on 30 minutes earlier than you usually would to ensure the house has reached full temperature by the time you wake up.

3. Wrap your pipes up. If you are worried about your pipes freezing, wrap them up with lagging to avoid blockages and burst pipes.

4. Check your boiler pressure. Boilers function best at one bar so it is important to check the pressure of your boiler, particularly during the cold weather when you need it most. If it’s too high or too low, we recommend calling a gas safety engineer.

5. Draught-proof your doors. If you are feeling draughts through windows, doors or letter boxes a quick fix for heating up your home is to block them with draught excluders.

6. Move furniture away from the radiators. If big items of furniture such as sofas, beds or tables are sitting in front of a radiator they are absorbing the heat and preventing it from circulating around the room. Moving furniture away from the radiators will allow heat to circulate around the room.

7. Find out where your stopcock is. This sounds obvious but it’s surprising how many homeowners and tenants don’t know where the stopcock is. If pipes do freeze, pressure can build up and cause them to burst. Although this is the worst case scenario you should know how to turn off the water should this happen.

For more information or any other property-related queries, call Romans on 01344 985666.