Summer Boiler Care: Why You Shouldn’t Ignore It in the Off-Season

When the time comes to turn off your central heating at the end of winter, the last thing you’re likely to be thinking about is starting essential maintenance. Once we’re no longer relying on it every day, we tend to stop thinking about the urgency of keeping our central heating systems in peak working order.

While this might be a common approach, it isn’t always the best for your boiler. By paying attention to your boiler during the off-season, you can help to stay one step ahead of potential breakdowns. You can also ensure that your central heating works much more efficiently once the time comes to switch it back on again.

Why bother with summer boiler maintenance?

There are a few good reasons to make the summer all about boiler maintenance. For starters, it’s the perfect time to make repairs and improvements as you won’t be relying on it every day. If you need to switch your boiler off to carry out repairs, you won’t notice this as much in the summer.

It’s also a good idea to schedule boiler maintenance for the summer as this is when plumbers have the most availability. If you wait until autumn or winter, you’ll be competing with customers who are facing emergency breakdowns, so you might struggle to find a plumber with availability.

And finally, your central heating system will work more efficiently when you turn it back on if you commit to regular maintenance in the summer months. A few simple tasks can help to keep your heating system working efficiently, which could help to drive down your energy bills in winter.

Summer maintenance tasks to consider

The summer months are the absolute best time to schedule your annual boiler service. This can help to keep your warranty intact if your boiler is quite new. For older boilers, it can help your plumber to spot and fix small issues that could lead to a potential breakdown in the winter.

You might also consider services like a powerflush. This essential maintenance task should be completed roughly every 5-6 years. It helps to remove all traces of sludge, rust and debris build up from your central heating system so that the water can flow freely and radiators heat up evenly.

If you’re thinking about a boiler upgrade, don’t wait for your existing system to break down. Replacing it in the summer months will be easier as you’ll find it much easier to book a plumber. Your system will also have time to settle, and you’ll be able to troubleshoot things like installation leaks before you have to rely on the system in the winter months.

Powering down your boiler for the summer

If you don’t need your boiler at all during the summer months – usually because your boiler only powers your central heating, and not your hot water – then you may be able to power it down for the warmer months.

It’s a good idea to have your boiler checked by a plumber before you switch it off for the summer. This will help to ensure you don’t face unexpected issues when you turn it back on again. Your plumber will also be able to advise you on the steps you should take when you switch the system back on again.

Switching off your boiler when it isn’t in use can help to extend the life of the system and save money by avoiding any accidental use. However, you should be wary about unexpected cold spells, as this could lead to frozen pipes if you don’t switch your central heating system back on again in time.