Step-by-step guide for when you have no water
22/08/20
Search for incidents in your area
Most water companies have an interactive map on their website with the latest information on known incidents near you. Follow the links below to your local water supplier.
If they don’t have any information on their website, it is worth getting in touch with them. They should be able to advise how long it’ll take to fix and they’ll aim to get you back up and running as quickly as possible.
If there are no known incidents in your area, continue the steps below.
Check the taps throughout your home
If you haven’t got any water coming from your bathroom taps, but your kitchen sink is fine, it’s unlikely to be an issue with your mains supply. If water comes out of your cold kitchen sink but no where else, the problem is with your internal plumbing.
Ask your neighbours
If you live in a block of flats, check for known issues with your building maintenance contact or local authority.
If your neighbours do have running water, it’s worth asking whether they’ve had any recent plumbing work done, just in case this has caused a problem with your supply.
Check your stop valves are open
Your inside and outside stop valves need to be fully open for your water to be on.
Your internal stopcock can be found where the water supply enters your home, usually under a kitchen sink. Turn your mains tap (usually the kitchen cold tap) slowly and turn the stopcock valve anti-clockwise. You should see the water restored once you’ve done this if the stopcock was the problem.
The outside stop valve is usually found near the boundary of your property and look like small drains, usually labelled with “W” or “water”.
To check the valve is fully on, open up the cover and turn the valve or key all the way anti-clockwise. Once doing this, check your mains tap again.
Check for frozen pipes
No running water can be a problem caused by cold weather freezing pipes if they are not properly insulated.
If you’ve got a modern high efficiency condensing boiler, it might be your condensate pipe that’s frozen. Once you’ve located the pipe outside, pour hot but not boiling water over it to melt the ice inside. Once it’s cleared you should find your water flows normally.
If you have checked everything above and none of these steps help to get the water flowing again, you can call a PlusHeat plumber for a one-off repair or take out a PlusHeat maintenance plan to get advice and support when you need it most, all year round. Our technically trained experts are on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (yes, even Christmas day!) to ensure your home is protected.
