24 January 2022

5 Tips To Avoid Boiler Breakdown


As it’s your boiler’s job to keep you, your family and your home warm, it’s important to keep it working at its best, especially while the weather is still cold.

It’s important to recognise when your boiler may need attention before it breaks down completely.

Here are five signs to watch out for to help you know whether you need an engineer to look at your boiler.

1. Your radiators aren’t working properly

There are many possible reasons as to why your radiators aren’t working properly, but if you’ve tried bleeding your radiators and they still have cold spots, your boiler may need attention.

2. Pilot light is out or looks different to usual

If your pilot light is out, or keeps going out, it means you won’t have any heating or hot water. Follow our step-by-step guide to reigniting your boiler pilot light.

If the flame appears elongated or a different colour – such as orange or yellow – turn off the boiler immediately and contact an engineer.

3. Your boiler pressure is too low/high

If you’ve recently bled your radiators, releasing water from your central heating system can lead to pressure loss. There may also be a leak somewhere in your central heating system; check for damp patches near your boiler, radiators and pipes – don’t look in the boiler unit itself though; this is a job for a Gas Safe registered engineer.

You can top up your boiler pressure without an engineer to see if this fixes your heating and hot water problem.

If your boiler pressure is too high, switch off your boiler, allow it to cool and reduce the pressure. If this doesn’t work, there may be a fault with the filling loop, in which case you’ll need a Gas Safe registered engineer who can come and fix the problem for you.

4. Noisy boiler, banging pipes

If your central heating system has banging pipes, it’s usually caused by overheating. If you notice banging or thudding sounds, check your boiler’s thermostat. If it’s operating at a higher-than-normal temperature, allow your boiler to cool down by turning it off. Once you turn it back on, keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t rise too high again. If you continue to experience banging pipes due to overheating, you may need to call an engineer.

If your boiler/central heating is making strange noises, similar to a kettle boiling, it’s often caused by a build up of limescale and hard water inside your boiler’s heat exchanger. You’ll need to arrange for your boiler to be descaled.

5. Frozen condensate pipe

This is one of the most common boiler issues. Condensate pipes often freeze due to cold weather conditions during the winter, either causing your boiler to display a warning light or results in complete heating loss. You can insulate your condensate pipe with waterproof lagging to prevent this from happening, and if it’s already happened, defrost your condensate pipe.

To find out more about our Complete Home Emergency plans, boiler and central heating insurance or other types of home care cover plans, such as plumbing and drainage insurance and home appliances cover, contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301 or you can get a quote online.