Why do we isolate the boiler when we need its energy to dry ?

Following bouts of heavy rain, a river burst its banks and flooded into a house, filling it to a depth of 100mm (4” in old money or the height of a modern skirting board for those without a tape measure). The policyholders were then moved out and the drying contractors moved in.

The electrics were then isolated, a temporary distribution board fitted, and the drying commenced.

All fairly standard I’m sure you will agree.

The following day the air temp dropped to minus 14°C and remained there for a prolonged period.

Everything froze, the pipes, the toilet cistern and even the bedroom radiators were split open by the ice.

When the temperature finally rose and everything started to thaw, the resulting top-down flood was inevitable and it more than quadrupled the cost of the initial flood.

Fortunately, it didn’t damage the dehumidifiers as they were still frozen in blocks of ice as they had been for some days previously.

With a little thought, the boiler could have been reconnected and if some heat was maintained within the property, not only would it have remained frost-free, but the heat would also provide the necessary energy needed to promote evaporation and thus dry the building.

It doesn’t take much, just one wire and a little forward planning – so why don’t we do it?