For many, a boiler is reserved for the winter – and this certainly isn’t a bizarre outlook to take on the topic.

However, there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Sure, summer might (sometimes) greet us with blistering temperatures, but this doesn’t mean that your boiler can be forgotten about.

Today isn’t about telling you what you should do for every type of boiler out there; that would border on a dissertation and is beyond the scope of what we are trying to achieve.

Instead, it’s all about listing some common boiler do’s and don’ts that you should take into account to make sure that your boiler is in optimum condition in the summer, and subsequently prepared to be used in the colder months.

DO get it replaced (if there is an obvious need)

Most people seem surprised to experience their boiler breaking down at the start of winter – they curse their bad luck.

As it turns out, this is usually because the boiler hasn’t been used for a long period of time. Ultimately, lots of people fall into the same boat and suddenly need a boiler. Sure, there are now FastTrack boilers which can act as a savior, but another proactive way of looking at the situation is to turn to a boiler in the summer.

This is when most of the tradespeople aren’t as busy and as such, you can plan in your boiler replacement at your convenience.

Of course, all of this only applies if you actually require a new boiler. If you do have any suspicions that this might be the last year your existing one functions properly, the summer is the time to invest in one.

DON’T leave it turned off for the entire summer

When summer comes, we don’t need the boiler. Then, as autumn starts to break, we’re all frantically turning them on.

The general advice is that, at least every so often, your boiler should be turned on to make sure everything is working as expected. This will keep the system in working order and help you plan for any nasty surprises that would ordinarily arrive at the start of the winter (again, see our first point).

DO get it serviced towards the back end of summer

The same rules also apply with servicing. Unsurprisingly, heating engineers have a huge backlog in the winter months, which is why it pays to look into the matter sooner rather than later.

Leave it too late, and you’ll be at the back of the queue. A good reference is just before you need to start using the system again, so towards the end of summer.

DO pay attention to your water usageSomething that you will need to pay close attention to is your water usage, and how this relates to your boiler. Some people will use less hot water during the summer months, but others will use more. This can relate to the type of appliances you are using. For example, the modern washing machines will heat up water themselves, whereas others rely on a direct supply from the boiler. If you can understand this, and your own water needs when the temperature rises, you can start to plan how you will use your system during the summer. Will it be switched off completely? Or will you need it on for more hours in the day to heat more water due to increased washing machine usage?