When the weather plummets to sub-zero temperatures this can cause external condensate pipes to freeze up, which in turn can bring your heating system to a grinding halt.

Typical signs of a frozen condensate pipe will be your central heating makes a gurgling sounds when it’s on, or your boiler simply won’t turn on and some boilers might display a fault code. If your boiler has been working well up until a period of below freezing temperatures, then that’s a strong indication that the condensate pipe has frozen.

The good news is that if you identify a frozen external condensate pipe, it’s fairly straightforward to fix yourself. Blockages usually occur where there’s a bend or dip in the pipe and there are a number of ways to unfreeze the pipe:-

• Apply and heat pack, hot water bottle or warm cloth to the frozen part of the pipe.
• Pour hot water, but not boiling water, over the frozen part of the condensate pipe.

Once the pipe has thawed, you might need to reset the boiler, it’s best to refer to your boiler’s instruction manual on how to do this.