Get ready for winter...
Published: Thursday, 4 September 2025
We might not want to admit it, but with nights starting to draw in and with kids going back to school and a slight chill in the morning air, this year’s hot summer will soon be a distant memory – with the colder winter months on their way.
Hopefully it’s still a way off, but now is the best time to make sure you’re winter ready.
When it is time to put on the heating again, you’ll want to know that everything’s working as it should.
So, now’s the perfect time to turn your heating on for a short time to check that it works. If it does, that’s great, but if there’s an issue you’ve got time to get it sorted before the colder weather arrives.
If you think there might be an issue when you turn it on – there’s a few things you should try first before getting in contact with a heating engineer:
- Check your thermostat temperature – if your house is warm, you’ll probably need to turn your thermostat up a bit, to allow your heating to work
- Is a radiator cold at the top, but hot at the bottom? It might need bleeding, which you can do. There’s a video on Nottingham City Council Housing Services’ website to show you how: www.ncchousing.org.uk/how-to-guide
- Check your credit – if you have a credit meter, you’ll need to have credit on it so that your heating will work
- Does your boiler pressure need to be topped up? It’s a common issue. Depending on your boiler type the error code that is displayed will vary – so it’s always a good idea to check your boiler instructions or search online. The good news is that this type of issue is usually a pretty easy fix that you can do yourself. There’s lots of films on YouTube that can show you how. If you have a Baxi boiler, there’s another video available on Nottingham City Council Housing Services’ website that shows you how.
- And if you’re not sure how to use your heating controls – try searching online with your make of boiler as there’s lots of instructional videos on YouTube that can help.
Still not working?
If you’ve tried all these things, and it’s still not working, it’s time to call a heating engineer. If you’re a Nottingham City Council tenant ONLY you can call 0115 915 2222.
Other useful advice
There’s lot of useful advice about keeping warm, well and safe in colder weather online. Here’s just a few links that you might find useful: