Heating

Advice on boilers, radiators, central heating systems and keeping your home warm and energy efficient.

When To Book A Chimney Sweep

1st October 2018

As the nights draw in and the Great British Summer comes to an end, many people are lighting their fires or wood burners for the first time in a few months. Before you make the inaugural fire of the winter, it is important that you get your chimney swept. Here’s why.

Protect your household members and home from smoke

With normal use of a fire, soot deposits build up in your chimney. Too much build-up can narrow your flue and stop your chimney from drawing out the smoke and fumes from a fire, with three significant, potentially dangerous, consequences. Breathing in the fumes can cause damage to your health, particularly if you or a member of your household suffer from other respiratory conditions, such as asthma. As well as impacting your health, if smoke from a fire is not drawn up the flue and out through the chimney, the smoke that is released back into the room can cause discolouration and smoke damage.

Prevent fire from blocked chimneys

There are two primary causes of blocked chimneys, each of which can result in fire. When we burn wood or coal, the residue (coal soot or wood tar), builds up in the lining of the flue. If there is too much build-up, the residue can overheat and set alight, causing fire to spread up the chimney. Equally dangerous is the blocking of chimneys by bird nests. If a chimney is not covered properly, birds drop twigs and leaves to make a nest, effectively placing perfect kindling at the top end of your chimney! It is not unusual for unsuspecting home owners to discover a chimney fire as the result of uninvited summer residents!

Find A Trusted Chimney Sweep

It is important that you find an accredited, qualified chimney sweep. Failure to have your chimney properly swept by a professional could put your home at risk and could invalidate your insurance. There are professional accreditations from independent organisations, such as HETAS, which can help you to identify trustworthy, insured chimney sweeps near you. On completion, a professional sweeping company will be able to give you a certificate to show that your chimney has been swept in accordance with recommendations and is safe for use. You may need to forward a copy of this certificate to your home insurer; if you are in doubt about whether you need to inform your insurer about your fire, check your policy or contact your insurer.

As with many aspects of home maintenance, finding a chimney sweep near you can seem like an arduous task. However, when it comes to safeguarding your home and your family, it is something you can’t afford not to do. Take a look at the traders listed in our directory for a list of trusted local chimney sweeps in your area.

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Once a year, by a Gas Safe registered engineer. It keeps the boiler running safely, catches small issues before they become expensive, and is usually a condition of the manufacturer's warranty. Some home insurance policies require proof of regular servicing too. If you're not sure when yours was last done, book one before winter - better to find out before you're sitting in a cold house!
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This issue is almost always trapped air. Bleeding the radiator - using a radiator key to release the air - usually sorts it, and it's one of the few heating jobs you can safely do yourself. If bleeding it doesn't work, or if several radiators are having the same problem, it might be a pressure or pump issue. Worth getting a heating engineer in to have a look.
What are the signs my boiler needs replacing?

Keep an eye out for: frequent breakdowns, energy bills going up without using more heat, unusual noises (banging, kettling, or whistling), a flame that's yellow or orange instead of blue, and any visible leaks or rust around the unit. If your boiler is over fifteen years old and ticking any of those boxes, replacing it is usually the more economical choice - modern boilers are significantly more efficient.
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Why does my boiler keep losing pressure?

Some pressure drop over time is normal, but if you're topping it up regularly there's usually a cause: a small leak in the system (which isn't always easy to spot), a pressure relief valve that's releasing water, or air in the system after bleeding radiators. Topping it up via the filling loop is fine as a short-term fix, but if you're doing it more than a couple of times a year, it's worth getting an engineer to look into why it keeps happening.

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