Winter Survival Tips If Your Boiler Breaks Down

Here some winter survival tips if your boiler breaks down when you need it most.

Most households depend on their central heating system to keep their homes warm during the cold seasons. Your boiler suddenly konking out is not the kind of news you’d be happy to get. Your local engineer is your lifesaver in a situation like this. Don’t be surprised though if your engineer tells you it will take a day or so to get your boiler working again. Winter is one of the busiest times of the year for engineers. It will be helpful if you know a trick or two on how to keep you and your family warm while waiting for your boiler to get fixed. We have listed some winter survival tips if your boiler breaks down.

Winter Survival Tips If Your Boiler Breaks Down

• Layer your clothes. Wear multiple layers of clothing, wear a hat and scarves, use a blanket or a duvet. This will keep your body warm. This is perhaps the most basic of the winter survival tips when your boiler breaks down.
• Eat hot food and drink hot beverages.
• Retain heat by taping down windows and blocking draughts under your doors using towels. This will help ensure none of the heat will escape the room.
• Keep your curtains closed. They can act as an additional layer of insulation for your windows.
• Use hot water bottles or an electric blanket instead of heating your entire bedroom. This will keep your body warm without wasting heat on the entire room.
• If you are using an electric shower, it will continue to heat water as needed. If not, then you can heat water for baths using your kettle. Fill your tub with enough hot water from your kettle to get the temperature that your need for taking a bath.
• One of the most practical winter survival tips if your boiler breaks down is to heat only parts of the house that you are using, and only when you are using them.
• Keep an eye on children and the elderly. They can be vulnerable to the weather. Make sure they are dressed appropriately.

The last one of the winter survival tips if your boiler breaks down is to keep a stand by water heater available. A secondary gas or electric heater will not be as efficient as you central heating system. The temperature will cool quickly after turning it off. However, it is a good way to produce warm air in your home when your central heating is off. Consider borrowing from friends or charities if you don’t have one.

• Electric heaters are cheap to buy and do not need to get fitted. However, they can get expensive to run so make sure you buy the one that is most suited for your needs.
  • Fan heaters can heat a room very quickly using short blasts of heat. The room will cool down quickly once the fan is turned off.
    
  • Halogen heaters will provide heat for people who are right in from of them. They are best used for one person in a room, with the heater is close and pointing directly at the person. The room will cool down quickly once they are turned off.
  • Convection heaters heat more slowly, hence providing heat for the entire room. There is usually a thermostat to provide a more steady temperature. The room will still cool down quickly when turned off.
  • Oil-filled radiators also heat slowly but will provide heat for the entire room. It will keep the room warm for longer once turned off.
    
  • Traditional electric fires give directional heat but take longer to heat up. They are generally more powerful.
    
• Other secondary heaters
  • Gas fires are usually cheaper to run than the electric counterpart, except those that are “decorative fuel effect fires”. They can heat the entire room. However, portable gas heaters are not recommended to be used at home because of the high risk of toxic fumes build up.
  • Log/coal stoves are cheap to run and will heat the entire room. They will not heat the other rooms, though.
  • Open fires are very inefficient heating systems. Even if the fuel you’re using is cheap, it will be more efficient to use electric heaters.

These winter survival tips if your boiler breaks down are useful, easy and practical. Make sure you call a gas registered safe engineer to fix your boiler as soon as possible. Contact us today for more winter survival tips if your boiler breaks down, and for all your boiler repair needs.