A pilot light usually keeps going out for one of a few reasons: a draught blowing it out, a worn thermocouple that can’t sense it’s still lit, a dirty or…

A water softener is genuinely worth considering if you’re in a hard water area, since it reduces the limescale that builds up in kettles, taps, shower heads, and inside your…

Boiler cover plans get pitched at you a lot, often the moment you buy a new boiler, and it’s easy to sign up without really knowing what you’re paying for.…

The easiest way to stop your pipes freezing this winter is to catch the exposed ones now, before the first proper cold snap hits, rather than after. Loft pipes, outside…

Most homes are safer with mains-wired, interlinked smoke and heat alarms. When one goes off, they all go off, and they don't rely on someone remembering to change a battery.…

An RCD that trips once is doing its job. One that keeps tripping is telling you something's wrong. The most common causes are a faulty appliance, moisture getting into an…

Nobody thinks about the stopcock until water is coming through the ceiling. Your internal stopcock is usually under the kitchen sink. If it's not there, check a downstairs toilet, a…

A new boiler rarely arrives at a convenient moment. Often the old one gives up in the first cold week of the year, and suddenly you're facing a bill you…

A radiator that won’t heat up properly is nearly always down to one of two things: trapped air, or sludge sitting inside the system. The good news is that where…

When I’m out working on heating systems or boilers, it’s often the electrics that raise a few eyebrows as well. Loose sockets, old fuse boxes, extension leads powering half the…