Boiler maintenance is more often than not, something all homeowners tend to forget about or perhaps are a little unsure on some of the ways that they can help to increase the health of their boilers with a good understanding of boiler maintenance best practices. You don’t want to end up encountering a faulty boiler and to be possibly left with no heating or warm water. Below are some of our helpful tips on boiler maintenance that could prevent this from occurring.
Get An Annual Boiler Service
An annual boiler service that can be carried out by a professional Gas Safe registered engineer is one of the best ways to help ensure that your boiler is running efficiently. Having an experienced engineer who works day in and day out with different types of boilers can help them to detect any minor issues with your boiler and to prevent them from further escalating into more serious damages, where you could end up having to replace your boiler.
After all, prevention is better than cure, and you will want to ensure that you do everything you can to prevent costly repairs further down the line.
Re Pressurise Your Boiler
It’s always a good idea every once in a while, whilst your boiler is running, to check the pressure gauge to see if it matches the manufacturer’s recommended levels. Repressurise your boiler to see if it’s working efficiently at producing heat throughout your home and whether it can deliver hot water when needed.
Bleed Your Radiators
If you have checked your radiators and found that the radiators are warm at the bottom but cold at the top, this usually indicates that there is trapped air in your radiators. In this situation, you should bleed your radiators to allow the trapped air to escape. Bleeding a radiator does not require the assistance of a heating engineer and you should always make sure that your heating is switched off beforehand as hot water could spray out.
How To Bleed A Radiator
- Lay a plastic sheet or a type of covering on your floor to prevent potential stains.
- Place the key into the radiator bleed valve and gently turn it anticlockwise.
- When you turn the valve you will notice a hissing noise which is just the air escaping the radiator when the pressure is released.
- Once all the air has escaped the hissing will start to stop and then some water will spray out.
- Lastly, turn the valve back clockwise to close back up the valve and your radiators should be warm throughout.
If you feel a little uncertain on whether you could do this correctly then it’s always a safe option to call your local heating engineers who can bleed your radiators correctly and swiftly with ease. If you live in Cardiff, why not contact Eric Collier & Son for professional boiler repair Cardiff.
Check The Flame
If you find that your boiler isn’t firing up properly when the pilot light is out then there might be internal issues or something wrong with the gas supply. If the flame is yellow or orange and is not the correct colour which should be blue, then it’s best to call a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer immediately. When the flame is orange or yellow, this is an indication that the fuel isn’t being burnt completely which can be a sign of a carbon monoxide leak.
Check The Boiler Pressure
In order for your boiler to function efficiently by circulating hot water around the pipes and radiators within your home, your boiler will need to be set at the right pressure. Every boiler will come with a manufacturer manual where the correct boiler pressure will be displayed. As all boilers can have different pressure levels, it’s important to check the manufacturer’s manual. The manual should also offer instructions on how to change the pressure.
Lag Your Pipes Just Before Winter
During the winter months when the weather gets a lot colder your pipes are much more likely to freeze which can cause a build-up of pressure and can lead to a burst pipe. Lagging your external pipes helps to keep them warm enough to stay above freezing point. Lagging can be bought from a DIY shop and can be applied by yourself and is an easy tip that could prevent you from encountering a boiler breakdown.
Do Not Try And Repair A Boiler Yourself
If you have carried out our top tips for boiler maintenance and done the necessary boiler checks and your boiler still isn’t working, you should call a Gas Safe registered engineer to repair your boiler. Gas Safe Registered engineers are legally the only people that should be working with gas appliances. As an engineer will be fully qualified with experience, they will be able to get to the route cause of your boiler issue and offer a professional and safe repair where possible.
