In the middle of winter, when your wrapped up warm and your boiler breaks down, it can be a frightening experience. Especially when your house suddenly gets chilly cold.

Whilst, you should never, attempt to repair a boiler without the proper knowledge here are a few some solutions to some common problems.

Frozen Pipes

Frozen pipes can be a nightmare. Left untreated they can be a major problem and may even cause burst pipes, which will require an emergency call out. This happens because frozen pipes expand and can exert extreme high pressure into the system. This pressure can rupture pipes as the ice has nowhere to go and gallons of water will be pumped into your house causing major damage.

Locating the Leak

Locating the leak is quite tricky. The first thing to do is to open the faucet and locate which pipe is blocked. You will know this as no water will leave the tap when you turn it on. Once you have located the pipe follow it down till you locate the blockage, this will usually have ice on it.

You will need to thaw out the frozen pipe gently to avoid a burst pipe. You can either gently heat the faucet with a hairdryer or portable heater or buy electrical pipe heating tape.

Radiator Hot Spots

Radiator hot spots could be either two things. The first thing to do is to bleed all your pipes in your radiators. This involves using an allen key that should be provided with your radiator. Go round each radiator in turn, starting from the radiator near your boiler, and turn the key anticlockwise. It is advisable to grab a cloth or a piece of material to catch any water that may drip from the radiator. You should here air escaping from the pipes of the suspected radiator (if there is a lot of air this may take a while) followed by water dripping from the bleed valve.

Repeat this for all your radiators. You may also need to purge the system of any sludge that has built into the system and should seek professional help to do this. Please be aware though, that purging your system may expose any pinpoint pricks in your pipes causing leaks.

Banging Pipes ‘kettling’

Boiler kettling is caused by hard water in the pipes causing limescale in the system or on the boilers heat exchanger. This traps steam bubbles that then explode in the system, that then explode causing banging noises in the pipes. To eliminate this you need to descale the pipes. It is recommended to let a qualified plumber do this.

Another reason for loud banging on the pipes may be a faulty pipe. To eliminate this you will need to find the hot water tank and find the pump. If the pump is failing to switch on this can cause the loud banging noises within your system and your pump will need to be replaced. This will happen whether you use the hot water or the boiler.