COVID-19 Reportedly Bringing About A Rise In UK Boiler Breakdowns

 We’re sure you’ll agree with our Beckenham, Kingston and Guildford plumbers here at PGS Plumbers, when we say few things have been more indispensable over the past year than our home boilers. After all, you might be reading this right now, during a quick break from work while at home, mindful of the fact that if your central heating suddenly failed, this would be a massive inconvenience.

But is the greater dependence that many of us have had on our boilers since the start of the coronavirus crisis leading to a higher number of boiler breakdowns? Recent statistics – reported by the installers’ magazine Heating, Ventilating & Plumbing – indicate this may well be the case.

What do the newly released figures show?

The magazine and news website cited figures from a home and boiler cover specialist, which showed boiler breakdowns in the UK had gone up by 12% over the winter on a year-by-year basis. 

Now, there aren’t too many Hampstead, Purley or Guildford plumbers – or residential property owners in these areas of South East England – who would be greatly shocked by this increase in failing boilers. More of us spending more time at home since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak has meant heating being left on all day in many cases – and that puts extra pressure on anyone’s boiler.

Which? has stated that more than half of all boiler breakdowns happen during the winter, which would work out as approximately 2.5 million or so households across the UK. That’s an awful lot of property owners discovering that their boiler has faltered at the very time of year when they can least afford it. And when the aforementioned 12% increase is applied to this, the estimated number of affected households across the country rises to almost three million for this past winter.

If one was also to assume that these households are forking out an average of £200 each to get their boilers working again, this would amount to approximately £60 million in repairs. 

Don’t get complacent about your boiler during the pandemic! 

Clearly, then, we all need to be vigilant about the state of our boilers at the moment. And while we’re heading into the warmer months, you might be tempted to take advantage of the fact that heating engineers aren’t receiving so many callouts from stressed homeowners right now, by calling us to arrange a boiler service. 

This will help you to identify any emerging issues with your boiler in good time and have them suitably addressed, before the boiler has a chance to break down entirely. Indeed, it’s thought that regular maintenance can help prevent as many as 75% of situations necessitating boiler repairs.

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Don’t, then, take the risk of thinking that your boiler will ‘probably be fine’ without being checked ahead of the autumn and winter. Call PGS Plumbers’ Camden, Esher or Guildford plumbers now on 0203 370 0066, or send us an email, to receive free advice and a competitive quote for boiler servicing.