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Original poster

How long, in this weather, could you manage without a boiler?

68 replies

NewNameFor2024 · 21/01/2024 11:06

Boiler has decided it wants to leak. Lost 2 litres of water yesterday, around a litre overnight. This started last week as a small, drip, then a mug and so on.

I am prepared to keep catching water if I know the boiler is safe to use, however there is clearly a problem. A mixture of a few things going wrong recently means we have wiped out most savings and ideally I would like to not touch what’s left.

Chances are I will have lost the will to live and caved by the end of the week, but it had me thinking… How long could you actually manage without heating and hot water?

OP posts:
2dogsandabudgie · 21/01/2024 11:09

I would get the boiler fixed. It may be something that's easy to put right and not be very expensive, whereas if you leave it, it could lead to more costly problems

Ginmonkeyagain · 21/01/2024 11:11

Umm savings are there for this type of emergency. It's not going to get any better on its own and it's only January. What is your longer term plan for hot water and heating if you don't get the boiler fixed?

Theraffarian · 21/01/2024 11:35

Honestly I’m a softy , would call someone out to fix the day it breaks . We actually have our annual boiler service done with a local company purely because they promise to come out as a priority for those customers, and even came out one New Year’s Day to get us working again . We also had a water immersion heater put in years ago as a back up , so we would never be without hot water even if the boiler broke . I appreciate we are lucky to be able to do this , but we have a house that doesn’t like to retain heat , so we are at about 12 degrees each morning in the mild south at the moment.

Original poster
NewNameFor2024 · 21/01/2024 11:36

I know that’s what they are for, and I probably will cave by the end of the week. The boiler still works, I have heating and hot water, it’s just dripping. I will cave by the end of the week and call someone out, just not as a Sunday emergency 😕.

It just got me thinking, how long could you actually manage without heating or hot water?

OP posts:
Baircasolly · 21/01/2024 11:38

Either you suffer for a week, with a potentially dangerous boiler, and then still have to pay to get it fixed, or you just get it fixed straight away. I know what I'd do!

Baircasolly · 21/01/2024 11:41

But to answer your question, I've been without a boiler for a week before. It's inconvenient (and embarrassing - I had to beg showers off neighbours), and expensive (ended up getting too many mcd's rather than washing up in cold water! And yes, of course you can boil water to wash up in, but I was over the whole thing by then!) but it was perfectly doable for one week if it's not sub zero temps.

TeenLifeMum · 21/01/2024 11:41

About an hour? I’m so pathetic when I’m cold.

we do have an electric shower so I guess we could last with hot water bottles and maybe buy an electric heater for one room and stay in it.

BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 21/01/2024 11:42

NewNameFor2024 · 21/01/2024 11:36

I know that’s what they are for, and I probably will cave by the end of the week. The boiler still works, I have heating and hot water, it’s just dripping. I will cave by the end of the week and call someone out, just not as a Sunday emergency 😕.

It just got me thinking, how long could you actually manage without heating or hot water?

Turn the boiler off and get someone out today

BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 21/01/2024 11:45

And having been in this position last year I can survive but by the time it was sorted I was peeling ice off the inside of the windows not just mopping up condensation

StopTheBusINeedAWeeWeeAWeeWeeBagOChips · 21/01/2024 11:46

I couldn't last, me and 2 of my dc have health conditions that are made infinitely worse by the cold.

I have several emergency hot water bottles and 3 oil filled radiators, and back up blankets, and loads of those microwave hottie things all stored away just in case anything were to happen I'm so paranoid about it.

KThnxBye · 21/01/2024 11:47

I’ve lived without heating and hot water for fourteen months. That’s how long it look me to save enough to pay the initial deposit to have it fixed. I used a gas fire in one room and a plug in halogen heater, as sparingly as I could. I would shower at friends and family or have a strip wash with a kettle. I would bath the baby in the baby bath in front of the gas fire with a couple of kettles of warm and a couple of jugs of cold. It was actually pretty cosy bathing by the fire in the warm orange light of a real flame gas fire and halogen heater. It was less fun once we got our boiler back as still couldn’t afford much heating and chilly upstairs showers were not as much fun. The downside was the pipes froze once and then burst through the kitchen ceiling and that came down, followed by a bad case of black mould which took a lot of effort to keep clean until I’d saved enough again to get the hole fixed and hire a dehumidifier. But we got there eventually.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 21/01/2024 11:47

End of the week? I'd be on to my engineer today.

Doublerainbow23 · 21/01/2024 11:50

From a heating perspective a long time, we have a log burner and a plug in oil radiator, so we'd cope fine.

The lack of got water would have me caving first. We could ask friends for favours but that's not a long term option.

I'd also worry about keeping using it if it's safe?

Blanketpolicy · 21/01/2024 11:51

We have a gas fire place and a plug in electric fire so heating would be OK, but expensive. It is a small house, stairs are in living room so upstairs rooms would get some rising heat. Ds's has the raditor off in his room anyway because the TV,PS5,laptop heats it enough for him 🤣

We also have two showers, one runs off the boiler, the other is electric so showering ok too.

So practically we could last a long time, but would hate to see the bill!

WagWoofWalkMeeoow · 21/01/2024 11:52

Not very long!!

my story is too long to bore everyone with, but once my boiler went completely (after a period of just being a pain in the arse) I got boiler cover, waited until it took effect & then called them out (their technical advice team told me to do that!).

HOWEVER it was safe to use in the meantime.

Dripping water I'd call someone out first thing tomorrow. I'd turn the boiler off overnight.

use what savings you have, thankfully you still have some left. It's not going to be any cheaper at the end of the week, so just do it now! (Well tomorrow morning)

drowninginsick · 21/01/2024 11:53

Have you tried things like tightening all the washers etc? Try YouTube as well!

Doyouthinktheyknow · 21/01/2024 11:54

We went a month a few years ago because the boiler company failed to repair it twice, Christmas and new year got in the way and then we needed the whole system replaced.

It was a shit time but we survived with very expensive to run fan heaters and we did have an old electric shower we could get working.

Of we could have got the boiler replaced sooner, we would have.

Dacadactyl · 21/01/2024 11:55

I think my family could survive with no boiler for one week only.

I could probably put up with the cold for longer personally, but not without hot water and the ability to properly wash and dry clothes (we have no tumble drier)

Me and DH could shower at the gym but the kids wouldn't be able to so the goodwill of family and friends would probably run put after a week or so.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 21/01/2024 11:56

I don't think the issue is how long people can manage without heating / hot water but whether or not your boiler is dangerous. I get you don't want to call out on emergency today but would recommend you call someone tomorrow . Given that you are unlikely to get things sorted immediately, or even get an engineer out for a couple of days, I don't see why you would wait until the end of the week.

In answer to your original question though - we used to have an electric shower so with the gas fire in the living room and fan heater upstairs we could manage for quite a while. Wouldn't have fancied it with last week's temperatures though.

MissusKay · 21/01/2024 11:56

Get some advice. If the leak is containable you may still be able to use the boiler while you wait to get someone in.

The only alternative way of heating water in our house is the kettle so at that's time of year we wouldn't survive every long without the boiler. But that's why we have a plan with Gasway! 🤭

Floralnomad · 21/01/2024 11:56

As long as it takes to get a few quotes and get someone to do it .

CultOfTheAirFryer · 21/01/2024 11:58

Indefinitely really. I keep a few plug in electric heaters in the loft for emergencies, and would shower at the gym or next door (nice neighbours).

I would still message my plumber first thing Monday morning though. It’s the middle of winter, plumbers are busy and parts aren’t always instant - so calling Monday could still be a few days without heating.

DPotter · 21/01/2024 11:58

There are other ways of heating the house, it's the lack of hot water which does for me. I've lasted about 3 days with hot water. So fine for today and then on to a plumber tomorrow.

Don't blame you for not wanting to pay Sunday call out costs

Workawayxx · 21/01/2024 12:00

Ugh, boiler issues in winter are awful. I survived an entire winter (maybe 3/4 months) with no boiler as I didn’t have any money but there was a govt scheme for a new boiler for free but I had to wait till they could fit me in. I did have parents nearby to visit for showers and had a wood burner that heated all of downstairs. I wouldn’t want to do it again as it left mould issues upstairs though. I had a 4 year old at the time and would stack the wood burner full at night then run downstairs in the morning to get dressed in front of the wood burner!

JenniferJupiterVenusandMars · 21/01/2024 12:01

Baircasolly · 21/01/2024 11:38

Either you suffer for a week, with a potentially dangerous boiler, and then still have to pay to get it fixed, or you just get it fixed straight away. I know what I'd do!

Exactly. And while the leak is worsening so it the fault causing it and if the whole system splits you’ll have far more issues than a steady drip 🙄