Why an Annual Boiler Service is Worth the £90

An annual boiler service costs £90 with Hollis Plumbing and Gas and covers a full clean, safety inspection and controls test. Annual servicing keeps most manufacturer warranties valid, catches small faults before they become expensive, and helps the boiler run more efficiently through the heating season.

Your boiler is one of the hardest-working appliances in the house. It runs through every winter, quietly heating your home and hot water for months on end. Like anything that works that hard, it needs a proper look-over once a year. That is what a boiler service is for, and at Hollis Plumbing and Gas it is a fixed £90 for a full clean and safety check across Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend.

Why service every year

Annual servicing is what boiler manufacturers require to keep the warranty valid, and it is what makes the difference between a boiler that lasts twelve years and one that lasts twenty. The important reasons come down to safety, efficiency, and cost.

• Safety. A boiler that has not been looked at can develop faults you cannot see, from cracked seals to poor combustion, both of which can allow carbon monoxide into the home. A service catches these early.
• Efficiency. A clean, well-tuned boiler uses less gas to produce the same heat. Over a winter of heating that adds up on the bill.
• Warranty. Every major manufacturer, including Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Baxi and Alpha, requires proof of annual servicing to honour their warranty. Miss a year and you may lose the cover.
• Reliability. Small faults get spotted before they turn into a call-out at the wrong time of year.

What the service covers

A proper service is a clean and a full check, not a five-minute look at the pressure gauge. When we service a boiler at Hollis, this is what actually happens on the job.

• Visual inspection. Boiler, pipework, connections and flue checked for leaks, corrosion or damage.
• Burner and heat exchanger clean. The two components that do the most work, cleaned properly.
• Combustion analysis. The boiler is run under load and checked for clean combustion. If anything is off, we find it here.
• Safety devices. Pressure relief, controls and interlocks all tested to confirm the boiler will shut down safely if something goes wrong.
• Gas tightness. Full check for gas leaks on the appliance and connections.
• System pressure and flow. Verified against the manufacturer's spec.

At the end of the visit you get a signed record of the work. That is what your insurer and the manufacturer will want to see if anything ever needs a claim.

Warning signs to book sooner

If any of these are happening, do not wait for the annual date. Book a service or a call-out sooner.

• Yellow or orange pilot flame instead of the usual clean blue.
• Kettling, banging or whistling noises from the boiler or radiators.
• Water pooling under the boiler or dripping from pipes.
• Radiators not warming up evenly or hot water taking longer than usual.
• The boiler cycling on and off more than it used to.
• Any smell of gas. In this case turn the boiler off, close the gas meter valve and call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999 before you do anything else.

What it costs

A Hollis boiler service is a fixed £90. That covers the clean and the full safety check. If anything needs repair, we quote it separately before we do the work, so there are no surprises on the invoice.

Compared to the cost of a replacement boiler (roughly £2,000 to £3,500 supplied and fitted) or an emergency call-out in winter, £90 a year is one of the cheapest home-maintenance items you can put on the list.

A note for landlords

A boiler service is not the same thing as a landlord gas safety check (CP12). If you are a landlord you need both: the annual CP12 to satisfy your legal obligation on every gas appliance in the property, and the boiler service to keep the manufacturer warranty valid. Our landlord gas safety check is £75 and covers the boiler, hob and fire in one visit. Details are on the Landlord Gas Safety Check page.

Frequently asked questions