DIY guideHeating system

Check the boiler pressure and look it over

Read the boiler's gauge cold and hot, and look for drips, crust and rust round it. Topping it up and servicing stay a heating pro's.

7 steps

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With the heat off for a few hours, read the gauge on the boiler's front and note where the needle sits.
Leave the boiler's covers shut: there's a flame and hot water inside.
Run the heat for half an hour and read it again. It rises a little, and should stay in its normal range, often marked green.
Look along the pipes and valves, and on the floor round the boiler, for drips, puddles or stains.
White or green crust on a fitting, or rust streaks, mean a slow leak. Photograph them.
The pipe from the relief valve should end near the floor, dry, with nothing over its end.
Keep boxes, laundry and anything that burns well away from it.
The needle out of its range or dropping, water at the relief pipe, or any leak: don't top it up. Ask Handyman for a heating pro.

Handyman says: Pressure off? I'll find a heating pro.

Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.