Looking after your heating

During cold weather snaps, the external pipes connected to your boiler may freeze, but there’s some steps you can take to prevent this from happening.

We’ve put together some top tips to help you maintain your heating during these cold periods.

In particularly cold weather, your boiler’s condensate pipe may freeze, which can lead to a blockage, and could cause the boiler to shut down. You can find the pipe on the wall outside your home leading from the boiler to drainage in the ground.

If you hear bubbling or gurgling noises coming from the pipe, the pipe could be frozen. You may also see error messages on your boiler, or warning lights, which will be explained in your manual.

If the pipe is frozen, it will need to be thawed. The easiest way to deal with a frozen pipe is to pour a couple of jugs of warm water over the outside of the pipework. Boiling water could cause the pipe to crack.