Draining the Water system in a Dwelling
Most domestic water systems are built using the same principles and can be drained down to allow maintenance or to stop pipes freezing should the dwelling be empty for a long time.
To empty the water system it is first necessary to stop it refilling, so you need to turn off the main stopcock. If you have central heating via radiators or under floor heating (e.g. Water based) then you should also shut off your boiler as it may run dry and cause considerable damage.
The main stop cock is normally located where the mains water enters the house. This more often than not is under the kitchen sink or if you have a basement it will be in the most inaccessible corner of that! (been there!!) If the stopcock is not used it may become seized and will need a bit of force to enable it to turn. a Good tip when turning on a stopcock is to turn it on fully and then wind it back just a little, this prevents the valve “wielding” itself to the housing of the stopcock and thus makes it easier to turn in future.
Turn the Stopcock off and test that the valve is working by turning on the fresh water tap (Cold Kitchen Sink tap). This should not run, if it does run or trickle leave it a minute or so to see if it stops as you could be emptying the water left in the pipe going upstairs.
If it is not stopping and you are sure you have the main stopcock then you will need to turn off the water board’s stop cock which will be at the point where the water pipe enters your property. This is normally by the main entrance, buried in the pavement it will have a cover typically 150-200mm square. If you lift this cover up there should be a stopcock you can use to turn off the water. If not call the water board and they should be able to assist in locating and turning the water off.
Once the water is shut off you will need to drain down the water storage tanks. Depending upon what you want to do you may want to do both or just on of the following;
Empty the Cold Water system. Typically you turn on the cold tap at the lowest point of the house. You can speed this up by running the cold bath tap until it stops as this moves a greater volume of water.
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