For day 1 of Gas Safety Week we want to talk about the importance of keeping your boiler in good condition. Nobody enjoys paying out money for a boiler service as it often feels like there’s no real perceivable benefit at the time and that we’re paying out for the sake of it. It’s often tempting then to skip a service or two and before you know it, it’s not been done for several years.
While you may be sceptical about paying for a service we can tell you categorically that your annual service is in fact an essential element of the maintenance of your boiler.
This is why you should do it every year:
As a gas appliance, the biggest risk associated with it is the potential to leak carbon monoxide (CO) which can of course be fatal. The boiler is tested rigorously during the service and this should highlight not only any problems that it may have but also any areas of risk that could become a problem in the future (eg seals that have perished). They can then be dealt with as appropriate.
The key to minimising your energy usage is an efficient boiler. A service will help keep your boiler working as efficiently as it can and therefore save you money on your energy consumption. Your engineer can also make recommendations for proactive maintenance to keep your boiler working well or address any issues such as adding inhibitor to prevent sludge build up or a powerflush should you already have some.
Many boilers now come with up to 7 years warranty from the manufacturer which is great but it absolutely depends on you maintaining the boiler properly which means that if you don’t service it annually and you do have a problem, your warranty is likely to be invalid.
If you have boiler cover insurance you may think you don’t need to worry about the boiler breaking down as it would be covered anyway but proper maintenance of your boiler is usually a condition of the policy so you may well discover that this is also invalid, just when you need it.
Many of the breakdowns that we deal with are on boilers that have not been serviced regularly and you can bet that the saving they’ve made by not servicing the boiler is more than wiped out by the cost of the breakdown. Most significantly though it is the safety aspect that should persuade you it’s never a good idea to skip your annual service.
This blog has been produced as part of our Gas Safety Week 2019 campaign. See more information about Gas Safety Week here.
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