Top 5 Maintenance Tips to Keep Your Boiler Running Smoothly

Your boiler is an integral part of your home, keeping you warm in the colder temperatures and providing hot water, power, electricity and heating for a range of reasons (depending on which boiler you have installed. Without it, your home or business would be unsuitable for people to reside in the building. If something goes wrong with your boiler, it can become costly to fix these issues – this is why we would always recommend regular maintenance so that smaller issues can be resolved quickly and efficiently. Regular boiler servicing helps to stop these smaller problems become larger, more costly ones later on. Read on to find out more about how you can keep on top of boiler maintenance to prevent expensive problems or replacements. 

1) Have Your Boiler Serviced Regularly

According to British Gas, it is recommended that you get your boiler serviced at least once a year to ensure that it is in full working order. Whilst this may seem costly in the short term, it provides peace of mind that your boiler is safe in the long term. There are many reasons why frequent boiler servicing is so important:

• It keeps your family safe – a faulty boiler has the potential to cause harm. By having it serviced regularly, issues can be found and fixed early on to prevent grievous harm. This can include carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Issues are discovered earlier – any issues discovered during servicing can be small and minor. Still, you would have had no way of knowing until they became a bigger, more dangerous issue. In the long term, you could save hundreds on future repairs.
• Save on energy bills – while getting a boiler serviced is a home expense, your engineer will run several checks on your boiler to ensure there are no glaringly obvious issues. This ensures your boiler is more efficient so it costs less to run. Boiler efficiency is also measured depending on how old your boiler is and the type of boiler it is. 
• It’s required for insurance – to keep your boiler warranty or to comply with your business insurance policies, you must get your boiler serviced regularly. If you don’t, your policy could be invalid. Getting your boiler serviced every year meets most insurance policy requirements.
• It’s legally required for landlords – if you’re a landlord, you must ensure that a gas safety check is carried out by law. This is to ensure boilers are safe before, during and after your tenants move in. Landlords are not, however, required to check gas appliances that the tenant owns. 

2) Prevent The Pipes From Freezing

When the pipes to the boilers freeze up, this can cause excess pressure to build up within the boiler. During colder weather, it is advised that you put the heating on at least twice a day at the right temperature to prevent the water from freezing. This goes for the warmer months as well – even when you’re not using your heating, it is worth allowing water to move through the pipes to ensure everything is running smoothly. 

3) Be Aware of Any Boiler Leaks

A leaky boiler is a very common problem, so it’s always worth having your boiler maintained to find these issues out before they become too big. These smaller issues are a lot easier and cheaper to fix. If your boiler is leaking water, it can also increase the risk of electrical faults and rust in the system which can have disastrous consequences. They must be fixed as soon as they are spotted. You can check for signs of a leak yourself and call an engineer to get it fixed as soon as possible.

4) Check Your Ventilation Regularly

It is vital that your boiler is in a position to allow air to filter around and through it. This will allow it to work properly and not overheat. It’s important to ensure that there is no clutter around your boiler that could prevent airflow. Your boiler may be located in a cupboard that is also used for storage, so you must check that there is nothing in there that is covering ventilation. If ventilation is covered, it could lead to damage to the boiler.

5) Bleed Your Radiators

Whilst bleeding your radiators isn’t related to the actual boiler, if your radiators don’t warm up when the heating is on, then there could be some boiler damage. Whilst this isn’t always the case, bleeding your radiators can help to relieve the pressure building up from condensed air. If this air is trapped, it can reduce the pressure gauge in the boiler.

Find Boiler Servicing in Tipton and Surrounding Areas

We understand how important it is to consider annual maintenance and servicing of your boiler to ensure that it is working smoothly and as it should. The team here at JH Heating and Plumbing take pride in their skills and expertise in boiler servicing around the Walsall, Bilston, Tipton, Wolverhampton, Wednesbury and Dudley areas. For immediate boiler repairs or servicing, call us on 0777 502 9452 today or contact us. You’ll have peace of mind with our Gas Safe Technicians.