Each year when the clocks go back and the temperature starts to drop, we all start to think about switching the heating back on. We understand it can be difficult to keep your home warm this winter and we want to make sure you feel supported during the cold months.
We’ve put together some helpful tips and tricks to avoid common issues that happen around the home when the cold weather hits.
Defrosting a condensate pipe
When the weather gets extremely cold, your condensate pipe can freeze. This is the pipe that runs out of the wall from your boiler, and into the drain outside. If this happens, it can leave you without heating or hot water.
Don’t worry! If your condensate pipe is at ground level, you can safely defrost this yourself. Our partner Liberty has created this quick video to help you do just that.
No heating or hot water
If you haven’t used your boiler for a while, it can become faulty. This may impact your hot water or heating. But did you know there are things you can do at home to resolve this?
Our partner, Liberty, has developed six videos filled with tips and on how to get your boiler working again. All you have to do is choose what boiler you have – Combi or System – and you’ll be shown the best advice for your home.
If you’re not sure what type of boiler you have, we’re here to help. If your boiler has a name or model on the front it is likely a combi boiler. It might even have the word ‘combi’ included.
If your boiler normally fires up every time you run the hot tap, this is likely a combi boiler.
If you answered no to the above questions, and have a hot water tank, then your boiler is probably a system boiler.
When the weather gets extremely cold, your condensate pipe can freeze. This is the pipe that runs out of the wall from your boiler, and into the drain outside. If this happens, it can leave you without heating or hot water.
Don’t worry! If your condensate pipe is at ground level, you can safely defrost this yourself. Our partner Liberty has created this quick video to help you do just that.
Do you have a combi boiler and no hot water? Watch this easy-to-follow video to learn what you can do to fix this at home. It’s common for boilers to become faulty after not being used much over summer and often you don’t need an engineer to come out to sort it!
If you’re concerned about your heating and you have a combi boiler, we have the solution for you! Watch this simple video that guides you on how to fix this at home yourself, without needing to call an engineer.
If your hot water isn’t working, and you have a system boiler, we’re here to help. Watch this short video that walks you through soft fixes you can do yourself to get things going again.
Sometimes if we’ve not used our boiler in a while, it can impact our central heating. If you have a system boiler, this video can help you to get your heating working again without needing to call out an engineer.
Common central heating problems
If your radiators are warm upstairs, but cold downstairs, this could be an issue with your central heating circulation pump.
What are the signs to look out for? A noisy pump with a grating sound, the plastic casing is hot, there’s a loss of power, and a leak coming from the pump.
This can be a simple fix – try removing trapped air and blockages by bleeding your radiators.
If your radiators are cold at the top, or in certain patches, this is often because of trapped air or rust. Good news! You can resolve this yourself by bleeding your radiators.
When we move into the colder months after not using our boiler as much, this can sometimes result in issues with our heating. Our partner, Liberty, has created a video to help you figure out what’s happening and the next best steps to get your heating working properly again.
