Making sure your boiler is ready for the Winter

There is nothing more frustrating during the winter than having your central heating system fail, especially as we get into late winter. If you are having to deal with boiler breakdowns it can be incredibly disruptive and a huge pain.

If you find yourself suffering from boiler breakdowns there’s some things you can do to stop it from happening in the future, mainly by prepping the boiler for the winter weather. In this article, we’ll go over some of the things you can do to ensure your boiler is ready for the winter.

Prepping in the run up to winter

You should always test your boiler (as well as your central heating system) in the run up to winter.

One way to do this is to run the boiler for a few hours one evening before the really cold winter weather sets in. This will ensure you know if your system is running correctly or not. You can check for any cold spots, listen out for any strange noises, and check for any other problems.

By keeping your boiler healthy before and during the winter you’ll ensure your home is kept both safe and warm. Furthermore, it’ll cut down the cost of maintenance in the long term as well.

Annual Service

Getting an annual service is incredibly important to ensuring you’ve a warm, comfortable home as well as ensuring you have a dependable central heating system during the winter. You should try and get your boiler serviced before the winter, because this is when engineers will be most busy, but it’s still possible to book your service during the winter.

A boiler service like CHS Home Glasgow will involve the engineer checking and cleaning the parts and components of the boiler to guarantee they’re in a good, working order. Even if you have not noticed any issues with your boiler, making sure you get an annual service is vital.

System Filter

To help your boiler remain healthy for a longer period there’s several handy accessories you can fit.

One of these is the magnetic system filter. This is a fantastic option. The magnetic boiler filter works by attracting metallic particles, preventing them from entering the boiler system. Magnetic filters stop these particles from disrupting the flow of the water, and stop them from becoming a dense, sludge-like substance (which can cause serious issues in the long term).

Checking and bleeding your radiators

Switch on your heating and once your home is properly heated, check your radiators for any cold spots. If the radiator is cold near the top but hot near the bottom, it becomes necessary to bleed them.

Bleeding radiators is an important process. Air can become trapped inside of radiators, stopping warm water from circulating properly. As a result, the radiator becomes cold near the top, but warm near to the bottom. This results in your central heating system not working properly.

Checking the boilers pressure

By checking the boilers pressure regularly you’ll save a huge amount of money in the long term.

If your boilers pressure is not kept at the correct level, then you can suffer serious issues. A boiler which loses pressure will have its efficiency significantly diminished. It can end up having a significant knock-on effect on the rest of the central heating system.

However, it is relatively simple to have the pressure of the boiler topped up by an engineer.

Insulate the Pipes

Low temperatures during the winter months can end up causing serious problems for your central heating system, especially if they end up freezing. Keeping your heating on low temperatures can prevent this from happening but it is obviously expensive to do.

During the winter any ‘standing water’ which is produced by condensation can cause serious problems, including freezing inside of the pipes. If the external condensate pipes freeze, the boiler can stop working. Freezing water can also result in the pipes bursting, which can result in a total disaster.

You can try and defrost pipes by using a hair dryer. You should avoid pouring hot water over the pipes. If they continue to freeze, then the best option is to call in an engineer. If you discover cold spots across the pipes, you should insulate them to stop the pipe from splitting and resulting in any leaks.

Conclusion – Preparation is Key

By preparing your boiler and heating system you can avoid a swathe of serious issues when it comes to cold weather.