At this time of year it’s worth spending some time preparing your property for winter to avoid burst pipes, overflowing gutters or slippery paths.

1. Clear drains and guttering from fallen leaves, growing weeds etc so that they don’t overflow when it starts to rain hard.

2. Lag outside pipes (eg going to an outside water tap) especially in older properties. You can buy foam strips to wrap round the pipes from trade centres like B&Q.

3. Know where your stop-cock is in case you have a plumbing problem and have to turn your water supply off

4. Buy a small bag of outdoor use salt and a snow shovel before it starts to freeze. (It snow use thinking about this once the snow has fallen…!)

5. If you have a north facing garden beware paths and patios can become very slippery when they start to go green. They can be cleaned with path cleaning products (or try boiling water and a stiff bristled brush).

6. Make sure outside lights are in working order. Put new bulbs in if required.

7. Put patio furniture away or cover it up. If you furniture is plastic it can become brittle during frosts so be cautious the first time you use them in the summer in case they break when you sit on them.

8. If you are going away, make sure your heating is left on. Do not be fooled into thinking that turning off radiators saves money. It costs as much to hear one or two radiators as all of them so keep them all on a low setting.

For any other help with your property contact Pauline or Keith at Woods Property Solutions who work in the Swindon to Thatcham area.