People are just realising they are using their boiler wrong in the cold weather – but it costs just £1 to fix. One simple boiler error could lead to it shutting down, leaving you without heating, UK households have been warned after Christmas.
British Gas, OVO, Octopus, EDF, EON customers without good insulation have been warned the condensate pipe attached to your boiler, usually found on an external wall, could freeze over. Nicholas Auckland, heating and energy expert at Trade Radiators, said: “Flexible pipe insulation is an inexpensive yet effective way to prevent your condensate pipe from freezing during cold weather.
“Prevention is the best way to ensure that it doesn’t freeze even when temperatures outside get really low.” You can get affordable flexible foam pipe insulation for just £1, he added, with retailers including B&Q and Screwfix selling them.
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Nicholas said: “Pour warm water, but make sure it’s not boiling, over the pipe. Make sure to start pouring at the point where it exits the wall, and work your way down. The water shouldn’t be boiling, as boiling water will damage the pipe and potentially result in injury. You should be able to touch the water without it scolding you.”
Northern Ireland and the northern half of the UK are forecast to be cloudy with outbreaks of patchy rain and temperatures between 9C and 12C, while central and southern areas could be drier, with temperatures between 5C and 8C.
Tuesday will be similar, but potentially drier, with temperatures between 11C and 12C in the north and 8-9C in the south. A Met Office spokesperson said: “Daytime temperatures for the week ahead will typically be 9C to 12C by day and frost generally limited to central and southern counties of England and Wales at night with minimums around 2C to -2C.”
An amber cold weather health alert is in place from the UK Health Security Agency until 9am on Tuesday morning. The alert says a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, is likely.