A boiler is a considerable investment for any homeowner. It helps to keep your hot water running as well as keep your property warm over the colder months. Without a working boiler, you could experience periods of cold spells throughout your house and even be left without any hot water at a time you need it most.
This is why it’s paramount that you elongate the life of your boiler as not only will it prevent you from paying a significant amount of money for a replacement, but it’ll also help it to run far more efficiently than it would have done had you not kept it in good working condition.
Have your boiler serviced annually
Bleed your radiators when required
Install an inhibitor
Have a magnetic filter added
Switch the boiler on during the summer months
Although this might seem counter-intuitive, switching the heating on periodically, even if it’s on exceptionally low, will help to keep the boiler’s moving parts working properly. This is far more beneficial for your boiler than having it sat dormant for up to six months.
Even if the boiler is switched on for 15 minutes once a month during the summer, it’ll help to keep the cogs whirring, ensuring that, by the time autumn rolls around, your central heating system will be working order.
Make sure you power-flush the system
Power-flushing your boiler will help to rid the central heating system of sludge. Where inhibitors and magnetic filters are preventative, protective measures, power-flushing your system every once in a while will kickstart your boiler, helping it to run more efficiently than it would have done otherwise.
Once a power-flush has been carried out, even with an inhibitor and magnetic filter, the aforementioned will help to prevent a build-up of sludge again and so subsequent power-flushes might not be necessary.
Lag any outdoor pipes
This is an exceptionally simple task and so you’ll be able to do this yourself, unlike some of the previous points. When the temperature drops, any outside pipes will risk freezing over, causing your boiler to break down. During the winter, frozen pipes are one of the most common causes of boiler breakdowns but the issue can be easily rectified and all without calling in a professional.
Lagging can be found at any DIY shop and is relatively cheap to purchase. This inexpensive outlay can save you a considerable amount of money further down the line should your boiler stop working. If you’re reading this at the height of summer, now would be a good time to buy some lagging before everyone rushes off to the shops to buy some in the autumn.
This article is published by Ultimate Home Improvement blog uk
