Cumran Primary School Pupils Help NI Water Spread ‘Lag and Tag’ Message

CUMRAN Primary School recently joined forces with NI Water to help spread its vital Lag and Tag message for winter.

The tags are to highlight the need to begin preparations for winter. NI Water has produced the bright tag for customers to loop around the stop valve in their premises.  This will ensure they are aware of the location of their stop valve and it will be easily identifiable in the event of a burst pipe.

Cumran Primary School pupils help NI Water launch its Lag and Tag campaign.

Jane Jackson, NI Water education manager said, “We are all aware of the disruption and genuine hardship faced by many people last winter.  With that in mind, now is the ideal time for our customers to look at what they can do to prepare for the winter ahead.

“The pupils were each given a tag to take home and learnt about the importance of insulting pipes around the home. Simple steps such as lagging water pipes and locating your stop valve can be vital during a freezing winter.”

A stop valve is used to shut off the flow of water in a pipe. Stop valve tags are available to customers by phoning the Waterline number 08457 440088 or emailing waterline@niwater.com

NI Water’s top tips for avoiding frozen pipes include:

1. Insulate water tanks and pipes in unheated areas like lofts, roof spaces, garages and outbuildings.
2. Fix dripping taps – a gentle trickle of water can freeze and completely block the pipe.
3. Keep your boiler well serviced to ensure your house is heated.
4. If you are away from home during the winter period, open the trap door into the roof space to allow some of the warm air to circulate in the roof space.
5. If you are away from home you could leave a key with a neighbour, friend or family member who can check the house regularly for frozen pipes and to ensure there is adequate heat.
6. Know where your stop valve is in the case of an emergency - it is normally situated under the kitchen sink.
7. DO NOT run your tap to avoid a frozen pipe, a running tap can waste up to 3,000 gallons of water per day.
8. Write down the name and contact details of a SNIPEF (Scotland & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers Federation) registered plumber in case a pipe does burst.

Pipes burst when water expands and freezes into ice. In a pipe, ice forms first on the inside wall of the pipe and grows until there is a solid plug of ice blocking the pipe.  This plug then seals water between the plug and the closed valve. If more ice forms the expanding ice has nowhere to go, and causes the pipe to burst at its weakest point.