Boiler advice UK | BoilerMatch UK

Advice centre

Find the problem that sounds like yours. Plain advice, quick checks, no jargon.

Homeowner checking a boiler pressure gauge in its normal operating range

No heating

Usually the controls, the pump or the valve that switches between heating and hot water.

Try first. Check the timer and turn the room thermostat well above room temperature before anything else.

No hot water

On a combi, often scale or a mains water issue. With a cylinder, often the cylinder thermostat.

Try first. Make sure the hot water schedule has not been switched off or left on holiday mode.

Banging or gurgling

Limescale or debris making water boil in the wrong place, or air moving around the system.

Try first. Bleeding a radiator can quieten trapped air. Kettling noises need an engineer.

Lockout or fault code

Anything from low pressure to a flame sensing fault. Repeat lockouts mean something real.

Try first. Write the code down with the make and model. It makes any quote far more accurate.

Pressure keeps dropping

Water escaping somewhere, a tired expansion vessel, or a valve letting pressure out.

Try first. Top up to the green band once. If it drops again within days, get it looked at.

Leaks and damp

A seal, a valve doing its job, or something inside the case that needs opening up.

Try first. Switch the boiler off and catch the water. Never take the casing off yourself.

Cold radiators, warm boiler

Air at the top of a radiator, sludge at the bottom, or a stuck valve pin.

Try first. Feel the radiator top and bottom. Cold at the top usually just needs bleeding.

Smells and fumes

The one symptom never to sit on. Any suspicion of gas or fumes is urgent.

Try first. Open the windows, leave the property and call 0800 111 999 straight away.

Old and costly to run

No boiler has a fixed use by date. Repair frequency and parts availability are the real tests.

Try first. Two or three repairs in a couple of years is the point to price a replacement.

None of this is a diagnosis. If you can smell gas, leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Gas and LPG work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and oil and electric boilers have their own competent person routes.

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BoilerMatch UK introduces homeowners to local heating installers and you decide who, if anyone, you hire. We are not the Gas Safe Register, we do not fit or repair boilers ourselves, and any quote, work or warranty is agreed directly between you and the installer.