The recent cold weather is a definite reminder that it’s truly winter.

And with COVID restrictions meaning we’re spending more time at home, it’s even more important that we make sure our boilers and central heating systems are working correctly.

Heating Industry Professional and founder of Gas Angel, David Mooney, offers his five top tips on how you can make your home warm and comfortable.

Here are Dave’s top heating tips for 2021:

1 Insulate your boiler’s condensate pipe

This is a job you can do on your own fairly easily.

Condensing boilers have condensate pipes that run outside so can freeze when the temperature drops. Most DIY stores have foam tubing for insulation in various sizes to fit pipes. If your pipes do freeze, fill a jug with warm water and pour on the pipe. Make sure it isn’t boiling water. Once you have done this, turn the boiler off and reset it.

2 Check your boiler pressure

This is definitely one of our most common callouts that is easy to fix. Look for the pressure gauge on the front of the boiler. It should read between 1 and 1.5 on the green zone of the gauge. If it’s lower than 1, top up the pressure to get the boiler on. This is something we talk through with our boiler cover customers over the phone or you can download our free fix your own boiler guide which has simple step-by-step instructions.

3 Check the last time you had a boiler service

Gas Safe recommends that you have your boiler serviced every year by a qualified gas safe registered engineer to ensures the boiler is in good working order. When the engineer is carrying out your boiler service, they will look for any issues that need to be repaired. Try and arrange your annual boiler service before the cold weather really sets in so you don’t find yourself in a situation with a broken boiler when it’s freezing outside.

At Gas Angel Heating, this is something we include in all our boiler cover plans so you don’t need to remember your service each year – we send a handy reminder.

4 Check your radiators for cold spots

The majority of the time, cold spots are caused by trapped air. To fix this hold a radiator valve key to your radiator valve, with a cloth under to catch any drips and slowly turn anti-clockwise to let the air escape.

5 Install a carbon monoxide alarm

As carbon monoxide is completely odorless and tasteless, it’s extremely difficult to detect. This isn’t just a winter problem but I felt it important to mention to you now as those that have suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning have reported symptoms similar to both flu and coronavirus, meaning a carbon monoxide leak is hard to spot without an alarm.

Please get in touch to chat through any of the above tips or to book an appointment with me or one of my engineers.

→ Call 0191 289 3464 or email us today

Gas Angel Heating is committed to tackling climate change and has partnered with the charity JUSTONETree. As part of this, we plant two-year-trees each year for each Gas Angel Cover plan customer. This helps remove their boiler CO2 from the atmosphere and reduces their household carbon footprint.