Ivor Bates is the director of Bates Heating and Plumbing Limited, a plumbing and heating company established in 2001 and covering all areas of London, Docklands and Essex. Bates Heating is CORGI registered and all engineers are fully qualified and specially selected for their experience and range of skills. A 24 hour emergency plumbing service is also offered. For more information visit http://www.batesheating.co.uk or telephone 020 8924 3558.
If you are looking for ways to save money, especially during the Christmas period to help stretch your budget a bit further, whatever you do, don’t take risks when it comes to your home heating system.
According to insurance giant esure, 30% of their calls this winter have been related to customers’ central heating systems.
And the unfortunate thing is many of the emergencies could have been prevented. Belt tightening can go a bit too far at Christmas, especially when crucial things like boiler servicing or replacement are overlooked. It may be tempting to save a few pounds by putting the annual heating system service off until after the Christmas credit card bills have been paid, but what happens when the boiler breaks down in the midst of the season of goodwill, and engineers are few and far between?
Another common initiative that people undertake in an attempt to save money is to leave their heating off during the day whilst they are at work, or even whilst they go off on holiday over the Christmas period. However, this could prove a seriously false economy because frozen pipes could result, and the problems associated with this are serious – and very expensive to deal with.
Saving money is part and parcel of life during an economic downturn, however, there are better, more sensible courses of action that can be taken. Don’t risk your festive warmth this year! If your boiler is due a service, get it serviced. If you notice that your central heating system is not functioning as well as it should, for example it is noisy or needs bleeding more often than usual, then call an engineer sooner rather than later. Leave your heating on for short periods during the day or ask a neighbour to switch it on for you if you are going on holiday in order to avoid frozen pipes.
A handful of preventative measures may cost you a little more, but they will save you money in the long run!
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