Keeping a home warm is probably number one on any homeowner or landlord’s priority list. In the winter months when temperatures drop and the potential for rain, snow and ice increase, the last thing you need is for your boiler to run into trouble.

Whether it’s for your own home boiler, or that of your tenants if you’re a private buy-to-let landlord, heed these top tips for winter boiler care…

Keep your heating on low
Sudden cold temperatures can freeze your boiler’s external condensate pipe, which could cause your boiler to stop working. Insulating the pipes can help, or try keeping the heating on constantly but low when it’s very cold.

Bleed your radiators
If your property isn’t getting as warm as you think it should be, there may be air trapped inside the heating system. Releasing air from the system is simple but you will need a key which can slot into the radiators bleed valve. If you still have a problem after doing this, you may need to call in the professionals.

Keep your boiler maintained
Make sure you service your boiler and keep it maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. Check regularly for any warning signs such as leaks, cracks or noises as the sooner you can identify a problem, the easier it will be to fix.

Turn off services when property is unoccupied
If you do have an unoccupied property for longer than 30 days then it’s worth draining the water system and switching the utilities off. However, if it’s in the winter months then keeping your central heating system on at a minimum temperature can help prevent frozen pipes.

These tips were published on the Landlord Today website in February 2018

If you need help bleeding radiators or if your boiler needs a service, our heating engineers would be happy to help. Alternatively, should the worst happen and you find yourself in need of a boiler repair Salford, Manchester and Liverpool based RFM Trading can also come to the rescue. We help homeowners and landlords with all manner of property maintenance issues from everything heating and boiler related to full-scale renovation and furnishing projects.

We also offer buy-to-let landlords contract maintenance service. Landlords who take out a maintenance contract with us benefit from our emergency call-out service, meaning they can rest assured that their tenants, and investment property are in safe hands.

To access any of our maintenance services or if you have any questions or queries about how we can help you look after your property please call 0161 707 6106 or email sales@rfmtrading.co.uk.