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HOUSEHOLDERS SHOULD not leave their taps running in an attempt to prevent their pipes from bursting during the freezing weather as it could do just that, experts have warned.
A polar vortex from Siberia, referred to as “the Beast from the East”, is expected to bring heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions on Thursday and Friday and temperatures are expected to drop as low as -6 degrees.
As the low temperatures will leave many water pipes at risk of bursting, householders are often of the opinion that leaving a tap running can prevent a burst from occurring.
However, Richard Burke of the Heating and Plumbing Association of Ireland has told TheJournal.ie that leaving a water tap running to prevent pipes from bursting is a myth.
“I wouldn’t recommend it because it could have a knock-on effect with freezing. It’s a myth to leave the tap running, it can cause problems elsewhere,” Burke said.
He said that if the water is left running continuously it risks freezing the drain as it’s leaving the sink.
“It can block up the drain and the sink will fill up and overflow, I’ve seen it happen on a few occasions,” Burke said.
As for the water mains, Burke said that there is nothing householders can do to prevent the water that is entering the house from freezing the pipes.
If the water mains pipes underground aren’t deep enough below the surface, they can easily cause a freeze above ground, Burke warned.
“If the water coming in from the road isn’t down deep enough, it’s going to freeze and there’s nothing you can actually do about it. It just depends how far down the frost will penetrate down through the ground,” he said.
Here’s what you can do
Although leaving the taps running may not be a good idea, Burke suggested a few measures householders can take to lessen the risk of frozen pipes.
I would try to protect the house as best as I could. Leave the heating running a lot longer, maybe at a lower heat, just to have it tipping away.
“If you have an attic with tanks, I would definitely leave the trap door open a bit to bring some heat up there,” Burke said.
Irish Water has also issued advice on how to secure your home for winter weather.
It is advising householders to have a separate supply of fresh drinking water available on your premises in case a water pipe freezes or bursts due to the freezing weather. Any dripping water taps should also be fixed.
It also said that householders should ensure any gaps under doors and around windows are covered or sealed as cold air coming from outside can cause pipes to freeze inside a home. Furthermore, opening doors to unheated areas of a home can allow warm air to circulate, which prevent pipes and tanks from freezing.
Power outage advice
ESB Networks has said that it has a full emergency response in place to address any power outages over the coming days.
It is asking customers to be prepared to be without electricity for some time if their area is affected by the severe weather conditions. The ESB has issued the following advice:
Customers without power can check for updates on when their fault is expected to be repaired here or on the PowerCheck mobile app.
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The PSNI still act like the right hand of the Unionists. If they’re being drawn into the political firing lines it’s because they’re affiliated with one of the battling sides.
@Jon Kelly: Not a chance
@Jon Kelly: Not totally true. It’s definitely changed significantly since the old RUC days. There will be some bad eggs in there with prejudices to one part of the sectarian divide.
@James Lough: you might be right and that might explain why there was action taken against two officers – two bad eggs. But then there’s a question as to who sent those two officers along to police a simple quiet respectful wreath laying service of around ten people?
Or did the two bad eggs, one of which was waving a pair of hand cuffs from the start, take it upon themselves to harass the commemoration?
@Angela McCarthy: l have no idea, it’s speculation. The management or ombudsman should do a review and find out how they were instructed or did they make their own judgement. The psni needs to be transparent and not be prejudical. It would be good to see a joint Chief Constable from Irish and British jurisdictions to ensure an even hand.
@James Lough: changed you say but no comment about how UVF activity including that mentioned in the article go unchecked? Mass drug dealing in Loyalist areas by the UVF is common knowledge but no action taken.
Coincidence that there may be more information coming about the Sean Graham Bookmakers Massacre and the actions the last day and you think it’s very different
@James Lough: changed you say but no comment about how UVF activity including that mentioned in the article go unchecked? Mass drug dealing in Loyalist areas by the UVF is common knowledge but no action taken.
Coincidence that there may be more information coming about the Sean Graham Bookmakers Massacre and the actions the last day and you think it’s very different
PSNI = RUC.
@Dearbhla O Reilly: Sinn Féin = IRA?
@Dearbhla O Reilly: 3x + 2x + 4 = 5
@Joe Vlogs: first of all, no. Secondly, the psni are representatives of the government and have a duty to serve and protect all citizens equally.
@Kevin O’ Brien: 90% loyalist/Protestant represents PSNI , Only 10% Nationalists??? Do you think it is a right balance ? Definitely not …
@The dark raider…. Don’t Buy British Products .: absolutely not, and I didn’t say that either. My point is that they should represent and treat the people of Northern Ireland fairly, which maybe they don’t. Apologies if you didn’t understand that.
A quick Google search states Catholics currently make up about 32% of the PSNI. The target is 50:50 which will take a while to allow some of the older non Catholics to retire out.
@Kevin O’ Brien: Ok , agree with you correctly about the police duty to represent all the NI citizens fairly ..
@The dark raider…. Don’t Buy British Products .: please check your facts Donald.
@Misty Eyed Mutton: x = 0.2
@John Joseph Barry: thats a great response from the wider community to join inspite of initial threats from SF activists in NI. Do they still have the sign up in Clady “PSNI:people should not inform”? Of course, the guys that join see themselves as all 100% northern Ireland police, not a percentage of a religious army, and that’s the big difficulty bigoted nationist have.
@Tony Humphreys: you beat me to it. :)
What a surprise to see the Irish media defending the PSNI who were completely wrong and did the opposite of their job. I’ll always remember my Aussie mate asking. Why do the Irish media love the British and hate the Irish. It would be a new low for the media to spin this as anything other than the truth. A tiny number of people who are related, were socially distanced and were kept there twice as long as the ceremony by the PSNI blatantly looking for trouble. They sat there all day waiting for the mourners to come.
PSNI reeked with UDA , UDR , RUC , UFF , UVF , DUP , LVF , TUP and TORY ….
Surely it’s not about winning but conducting yourselves in a fair, transparent and impartial way towards anyone regardless of anyone’s personal or political beliefs?
Why aren’t those men sacked? Or made to go in front of those commemorating and apologise and watch a new commemoration?
Clearly many of the commenters here haven’t bothered to actually meet with or speak to anyone in the PSNI.
@Paul: so they can tell you that they’re totally impartial and the forgot their handcuffs at the loyalist show of strength? Honest mistake I’m sure!
If Police in Northern Ireland are being accused of favouring one side of the sectarian divide by the other and vice versa that generally is a good indication that they’re generally doing things quite right.
As for the incident on the Ormeau Road, I hope that it can be chalked down as an error of judgement on behalf of individual officers which it probably was.
Not wanting to needlessly inflame matters at a Loyalist “show of strength” demonstration falls in the same category as deciding to not being heavy handed at the funeral of an old Provo that was equally in breach of current regulations around public gatherings.
The PSNI overreact to a situation but it’s kinda understandable because we’re in the middle of a pandemic. SF immediately try to undermine the police and drag us back 20 years. Note to Sinn Fein: this kind of carry on makes the chance of a United Ireland LESS likely, not more likely. Ordinary voters in the south have an antenna for this and realise that SF reverts to type whenever a situation arises that they can bend to their benefit no matter the consequences for peace in the North. SF are too stupid to realise this unfortunately
@Virgil: watched the video of the interaction, the police man was looking to get the guy and escalated the situation,
When you go marching alongside masked terrorists who drove people out of their homes youd be sacked in a normal state
The more things change the more they stay the same. It will take a few generations yet for irish people in the six counties to be seen as equals.
One incident isn’t reflective of every officer in the organisation or the commissioner. Does anyone appreciate how difficult and dangerous it is to be a member of the psni? Also The psni are getting bashed from both political parties. The DUP criticised them for not intervening in a republican funeral which broke social distancing requirements (the right call as intervention would have incited a riot). Next week the psni took the same approach to a unionist event and Sinn Fein slated them. damned if you do and damned if you don’t
Catholic Lives Matter
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