You can’t escape the fact that much of the UK has experienced freezing temperatures recently, with snow and ice causing havoc on roads and in homes up and down the country.

Many people have been struggling with boiler problems and frozen water pipes, which has prompted us to look at how you can fix these issues and hopefully avoid having to get a plumber involved.

In cold weather it’s not uncommon for water pipes to leak – in fact that’s caused problems all over the country where people have spent days without running water because of issues with the wider network.

If the pipes in your home freeze though, there are a few things you can try to thaw them out, the Evening Standard recently advised. Firstly, you should turn off your water supply at your stop tap. Then turn on all your cold taps so that the water can escape when it begins to melt.

The next step involves slowly warming up the frozen pipe. Go to the pipe nearest the tap and either use a hairdryer on a low setting or wrap a hot water bottle around it with a towel to gradually warm it up.

The newspaper noted that this can take several hours, so it’s not a quick fix, but it will hopefully mean you have running water again. Make sure you check for leaks before you turn your water supply back on.

If you’ve got water softeners in Missenden make sure you check that they haven’t been damaged too.

Another problem many homeowners have had in the cold weather is the condensate pipe on their boiler freezing. This is a plastic pipe that runs outside your property and connects to the boiler. If it’s frozen, you need to pour warm (not boiling) water along it to thaw the blockage, Trusted Reviews explained.