If you own your house, do you service your boiler annually?

[TarnishedMoonstone]

Reading all the “shall I put the heating on?” posts, I’m surprised by how many people apparently have their boiler serviced regularly (appreciate this is mandatory if it’s a rented place, so I’m talking about homeowners who are meant to sort this stuff ourselves). How many of you are on the ball about this, please?

I do, in the same way that I have my car serviced every year.

Yes

Yep, it’s too expensive not to look after!

I have boiler cover and part of the T&Cs is to get the boiler serviced annually

Yes we do

Absolutely not

Yep!

Yes we do.

Yes.

Yes, I rent a house out so I get the boiler done there and then my own one.

They found a small water leak this time. It's good to check these things before small problems become big ones.

Me too. I watched my mum never look after hers and constantly have problems so decided to do better.

Yes every October. Local plumber.

You need an annual service to keep the warranty valid.

Absolutely. I think it can invalidate your home insurance for boilers if something happens and you've not been servicing it regularly

Yes we do

Of course! Have done since the day we first bought. We had to when we moved into our second home which was a new build to keep it in warranty, but even if that wasn't the case we absolutely would have done still.

Tend to do mine every other year.

In my last house I lived in I had a new boiler installed and didn't ever get that serviced until the house was up for sale. So probably 10 years or so.

Yes.

I used to own an old house with a boiler that was easily over 20+ years old. Each year I had it serviced and remember the engineer saying it was good to make sure they were done yearly as it really keeps them ticking over.

Our current boiler is now about 12 years old and still going strong with its yearly service.

No. I did it once and haven't been able to afford it since. Probably should do it this year.

Yes. Its gas. Don’t trust the stuff.

Yes.

Yes. Because I don't want to find myself in January in freezing weather with a boiler that has packed up because I didn't get someone to service it.

I appreciate that it can still break down and there are no guarantees, but why wouldn't you do the basics to try and ensure you weren't without heating/hot water for days whilst you tried to find a bloody plumber to come out? Particularly if it's then clear you need a new one and there will be an even greater time lag on getting one delivered and fitted/

Nope, I never have in 22 years of home ownership. Did in both previous houses just before we put them on the market.

Yes, and the water tank system. If you don't it can void your home insurance if it's the reason for house damage. Plus a carbon leak can kill you so...

I do usually, though had to skip a couple of years over Covid when I couldn't find anyone to come in the house. Ideally servicing should keep the boiler working longer and prevent breakdowns. And while carbon monoxide and/or gas leakage are unlikely, it's sensible to get them checked.

It's one of those tasks that, once you've found a reliable person to do it, it's not a big hassle to arrange annually.