It might not feel like it in the 27 degree heat – but once the flip flops and sunglasses are away we’ll be well into the season for crunchy leaves and cosy blankets.

Autumn is the most common time that we get repairs requests for boiler issues. As people start to turn on their heating for the first time in October and November, our customer calls increase and our engineers are significantly busier than at other times of year.

To take a bit pressure off our busy engineers, please test your boiler and central heating before the cold weather sets in. Don’t worry – you don’t need to sweat in the sunshine for long – it’s just a quick test to double check everything is as it should be. This will allow our teams to deal with any issues before they become a problem and make sure you’re ready for the cooler months.

To test your boiler:

  • Turn the hot water thermostat to the maximum temperature. Make sure anyone in your household knows you’re testing the boiler so they don’t scald themselves.
  • Run the hot water tap for a few minutes to allow it to heat up, being careful not to scald yourself. Remember, it can take a few minutes for hot water to come through if there’s cold water sat in the pipe.
  • If the water is coming through hot as expected, you can turn the thermostat back down to your usual setting.
  • If the water is getting warm, but not warm enough, or not getting warm at all, report a repair through My Account or by contacting our customer services team.

To test your central heating:

  • Turn up your thermostat to ‘constant’ and adjust it to the maximum temperature.
  • Allow it to heat up for 10 minutes or so.
  • Once you’re satisfied it’s working, you can turn it back to your normal settings.
  • If it’s not working, report a repair through My Account or by contacting our customer services team.

If your thermostat isn’t working:

  • If your thermostat doesn’t seem to be responding, change the batteries to a high-quality option. Lower quality batteries may not work effectively in your thermostat.
  • Once you’ve replaced the batteries, test the thermostat again by changing a setting or switching your heating to constant. If it’s still not responding as expected, report a repair through My Account or by contacting our customer services team.
  • If your thermostat isn’t battery-powered and you’re still having issues, please contact our customer services team. Do not attempt to remove the programmer or any other heating control if it’s mains powered.

We know the coming months might feel like a challenge financially, and it may be tempting to avoid using your heating at all. However, when it drops to very cold temperatures there’s a risk that not using your heating at all could cause the pipes in your home to freeze and burst – which can cause damage to your home and belongings. Even just running the heating for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening could be enough to prevent this from happening.

You can also turn off the water supply to external toilets or outside taps using your stop tap or isolation valve, which will prevent outside pipes from freezing and bursting.

Don’t forget there’s lots of information available on our Help Hub to help you manage your home – visit thehelphub.futureshg.co.uk.