We’re entering the final part of the year, and with it comes a return to our usual routines and starting to think ahead to cooler autumn days filled with hot chocolates, crunchy leaves and cosy blankets.
Every year when the temperatures start to drop we receive a higher volume of calls from customers, as they put their heating on for the first time, or because it’s the first chance they’ve had to give us a call since the kids went back to school. It’s easy to avoid the rush using our repairs web form – you can fill it in at any time of day and we’ll get back to you within two working days of receiving it.
You can also get ahead of our busiest time of year by taking 10 minutes to test your boiler and heating before you need it.
To test your boiler:
- Turn the hot water thermostat to the maximum temperature. Make sure anyone in your household knows you’re testing the boiler so they don’t scald themselves.
- Run the hot water tap for a few minutes to allow it to heat up, being careful not to scald yourself. Remember, it can take a few minutes for hot water to come through if there is cold water sat in the pipe.
- If the water is coming through hot as expected, you can turn the thermostat back down to your usual setting.
- If the water is getting warm, but not warm enough, or not getting warm at all, report a repair by contacting our customer services team.
To test your central heating:
- Turn up your thermostat to ‘constant’ and adjust it to the maximum temperature.
- Allow it to heat up for ten minutes or so.
- Once you’re satisfied it’s working, you can turn it back to your normal settings.
- If it’s not working, report a repair by contacting our customer services team.
If your thermostat isn’t working:
- If your thermostat doesn’t seem to be responding, change the batteries to a high-quality option. Lower quality batteries may not work effectively in your thermostat.
- Once the batteries have been replaced, test the thermostat again by amending a setting or switching your heating to constant. If it’s still not responding as expected, report a repair by contacting our customer services team.
- If your thermostat is not battery-powered and you’re still encountering issues, please contact our customer services team. Do not attempt to remove the programmer or any other heating control if it’s mains powered.
Don’t forget, there’s also lots of information available through our Help Hub, which you can visit by clicking here.
