Now the last of the Bonfire Night fireworks have fizzled out, all attention will be turned to Christmas. Festive markets are being set up, the shops are full of decorations and no doubt somebody who lives near you has put their tree up already.
With this being the case, you are probably at least thinking about your plans now, if not already deep in preparation. This means planning a turkey and other food, who is coming and where you will find enough chairs to get everyone sat around the table.
Whatever your intentions, they certainly won’t involve having an emergency call-out to get an engineer around to fix the boiler. But with the house needing to be kept warm and lots of food to cook, homes that use a lot of gas will be placing plenty of strain on their boilers. Most will take it, but if the boiler is defective you may find it fails at the worst possible time.
This is because so many boilers fail at this time of year that engineers will be very busy with call-outs, which means however much of an emergency it is, you could be left shivering in the cold without a working cooker or heating for hours or even days.
You can avoid all this by getting your boiler serviced much sooner. We always recommend spring and summer as the best times for this because then you can manage without heating while the work is being done and it does mean you have a full-service boiler working well when the cold weather arrives.
However, if you didn’t get it done in those warmer seasons, you should still have it serviced now because otherwise, you are taking the risk of something going wrong in the winter.
Not only can one of our engineers get your boiler working better, but they can fit items that make it more efficient than ever before, saving you money on your winter fuel bills.
The hardest question to ask at this time of year is whether you need a new boiler altogether. This might not be something you would want to spend money on when there are all those presents to buy, but, once again, you have to think of the consequences of a boiler on its last legs giving up the ghost during the festive season.
For that reason, you should look out for signs that your boiler is at or nearing the end of its useful working life.
There are some common signs to look out for. If it is 10-15 years old it is likely to be nearing the end. Secondly, you may find it is less effective than it was, heating water less and costing you more money, with this decline in energy efficiency a clear sign of decline.
Some faults can be real giveaways. This includes drips and leaks, pressure being too high or low, plus unusual noises like clicking or tapping.
You probably haven’t got the Christmas tree out of the loft just yet. But before you do, make sure your boiler is serviced so it can’t turn Christmas into a nightmare.
