3 Ways to Prepare Your Boiler for This Winter

On a cold winter night, nobody wants to be stuck in a home where the boiler is not working. Not only does it guarantee a very cold house, but it also guarantees an expensive service call to a technician. Rather than wait for something to go wrong when you least expect it, it makes far more sense to be proactive and service the boiler during the summer months to make sure everything is in good shape. If you need some tips on how to keep your boiler working great, here are several ways to make that happen.

Give it a Good Cleaning

One of the best ways to keep a boiler running efficiently is to keep it clean. If layer after layer of dust builds up on it or inside it, the result can be blockages that could cause serious problems during the winter.

While many people clean their own boilers, the best thing to do is contact an HVAC technician to give it a thorough inspection and cleaning. Because the technician has specialized tools, they can reach places inside the boiler where blockages are most likely to occur.

Carbon Monoxide Alarms

If a boiler is damaged or has other problems, it could potentially leak carbon monoxide into the house. Since this is a tasteless, odorless, and invisible gas, it's impossible to detect without an alarm.

To make sure you and your family do not have a tragic event occur, it's best to install a carbon monoxide monitor near the boiler to make sure nothing happens. Relatively inexpensive, an HVAC company can often recommend the best alarms and install them as well.

Insulate the Pipes

In areas where temperatures can go well below freezing during the winter, making sure the pipes are properly insulated can ensure everything goes smoothly when the outside turns cold. Just as with plumbing pipes located in a basement, crawlspace, attic, or garage, the pipes connected to the boiler are also in danger of freezing if conditions get too cold.

The most common problem for a boiler involves the condensate pipe, which is responsible for transferring condensation from the boiler to a drain located outside. If this freezes, the boiler will not work and a technician will need to be contacted promptly. To guard against this, experts recommend having an HVAC technician insulate the pipes with pipe insulation or wrap them in heavy-duty heating tape.

Call Anytime Plumbing, Inc at 702-362-9300 to repair or replace your Las Vegas, NV boiler!