Top Tips to Keep Your Heating System Healthy This Winter

Winter is coming.... this is when we rely on our boilers the most and as such it's when our boilers work the hardest. Here are some great tips on how you can keep your boiler healthy to make sure you’re nice and cosy this winter.

Service your boiler annually

Getting your boiler serviced regularly is vital to keep it in great working condition. If you haven’t had your boiler serviced yet this year, book an appointment with a Gas Safe Registered engineer. Your engineer will clean all the parts and components in your boiler and check that they are all in good working order. An annual service is also usually required to maintain your boiler’s warranty. You can find an Ideal recommended engineer in your local area using our 'Find an Installer' tool on our website.

Invest in a smarter thermostat

A thermostat like our Touch control with optimisation can help your boiler to gradually increase and reduce the temperature in your home helping your boiler to not work as hard, it also saves energy and money on your bills. Keeping your heating off for long periods of time during cold weather means then when you do switch your heating on, your boiler has to work harder to warm up. Find out more about our Touch thermostat here.

Check your pressure

Your boiler can lose pressure over time which may impact on its efficiency.  Topping up your system pressure is a quick and easy job; you can find instructions on how to do this on manufacturers YouTube channels; the Ideal Boilers’ video can be here: How to top up the pressure on your Ideal Boiler

You can also find instructions in manufacturer’s installation manuals and if you are unsure, ask a Gas Safe Registered heating engineer for help.

Defrost and insulate your condensate pipe

During the cold winter months, the external condensate pipe on your boiler may freeze and stop your boiler from working; this can be prevented by using pipe insulation. If your condensate pipe does freeze, watch our helpful video on how to defrost here: How to defrost a frozen condensate pipe

Bleed your radiators

Radiators that are a cooler temperature at the top than the bottom indicate that they have air trapped inside them and need bleeding. Radiators that need bleeding prevent your heating system running at optimum efficiency and put extra strain on your system. A video on how to bleed your radiators can be found here.