Now that Bonfire Night has come and gone, the next big event on the calendar is Christmas. That will be a time when you certainly don’t want anything going bang or going up in flames.
Of course, having safe and fully functional gas appliances is not just an issue at Christmas time, with the long, cold months of winter looming. But of all the times when things could go wrong, the festive season would be the worst. Just imagine not being able to cook the turkey or having a cold house because the boiler has failed, especially if you have guests.
The best way to prevent such disasters is to get your gas boiler serviced well ahead of time. This way, any minor problems that could get much worse can be addressed, ensuring everything is functioning correctly.
Getting this work done now before the coldest and darkest months of the year arrive will make a big difference. That way, you won’t have to worry about things potentially going wrong. Nor will you face the risk of having to scramble around for an emergency boiler repair service at a time when so many engineers are busy with call-outs.
Spotting Danger Signs
Don’t just take our word for it. Last winter, Which? Magazine addressed the nightmare scenario of boiler breakdowns and advised that the best possible approach is prevention, with the most important thing to do being to spot any danger signs that the boiler might be displaying.
It listed these as:
· Unusual noises, ranging from bangs to taps to clicks
· The gas bill being unusually high (obviously, you will have to make allowances for the changing Energy Price Cap)
· The pilot light showing up yellow or orange instead of blue
· Pressure levels being too high or too low
· Leaking pipes adjacent to the boiler
If the boiler is doing all or several of these things, you can be pretty sure it is not in a good state and needs a service at the very least. Moreover, when it is inspected by the gas engineer, you may find the conclusion is that the boiler needs replacing altogether, especially if it is over ten years old, as by then it will have many worn parts.
That news may not be too welcome as Christmas nears due to the cost, but it beats having to pay for an emergency call-out, have an emergency repair as a boiler has shuffled off its mechanical coil, or the higher energy bills a malfunctioning boiler may cause you to face.
Get Other Things Checked Too
Getting an engineer in could also be an occasion to get other gas appliances, such as a fire and cooker, checked out, especially if they seem not to be functioning at full capacity themselves.
The other thing to bear in mind is that a December boiler breakdown is not just a matter of bad timing because it can mess up all your Christmas plans. The very fact that it is December and therefore winter means your demand for heat will be much higher than in previous months, which automatically places extra strains on your boilers.
For this reason, boiler breakdowns are much more common in winter and engineers consequently more busy not because of coincidence, but because households have not taken steps beforehand to ensure they have boilers in good working order before they take on the heavier seasonal workload.
Stay Gas Safe!
Another important point to bear in mind, as ever, is that you should only ever allow an engineer with Gas Safe accreditation to deal with any of your gas appliances. By law, all engineers should have this accreditation and carry it with them to show you if requested to do so.
However, there are cowboys out there and if ever there was a temptation to accept an engineer without such accreditation, it is in the desperate circumstances of a December breakdown when it seems every other engineer in London is busy with call-outs already.
We would still advise in the strongest possible terms never to do this, as an unsafe gas appliance could endanger your life, but of course that could mean a longer wait for a legitimate engineer. This only adds to the reasons for getting your boiler checked out now.
It won’t guarantee a merry Christmas, of course; you never know which family members will fall out, who might get ill, or if the Christmas tree will topple over because the cat has tried to pull a shiny bauble off. But you will at least have one less, very major, potential calamity to worry about.