‘I’m an engineer - follow one easy radiator task to avoid driving up the cost of bills’
With UK temperatures set to plummet further, an engineer has shared one task that all households need to carry out now and how exactly it should be done.
B&Q explains how to bleed a radiator
Heating causes massive issues in winter, especially as energy bills have risen by five percent for the start of the year.
To avoid increasing the cost further, appliance expert at Domestic & General, is urging households to bleed their radiators.
He explained: “Bleeding your radiators is important because when they are working inefficiently, they can drive up the cost of your energy bills.
“If your radiator feels cold at the top and hot at the bottom this means there is trapped air inside of it preventing hot water from circulating and needs bleeding.
“As well as trapped air, a noisy radiator that is making gurgling and banging noises, can also be a tell-tale sign that it needs bleeding.”
As a part of standard maintenance, households should bleed their radiators at least once a year.
So, how do you bleed a radiator?
Ian noted that you will need these four items:
- A radiator key
- A bucket or mug to catch the water
- A cloth to clean up any spills
- Safety gloves and clothing to protect yourself against any hot water
Once the equipment has been gathered, you need to turn off your central heating, as you can’t bleed a radiator with it on. Not to mention that the radiator could be really hot and cause hot water to spurt out.
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The next step is to release the air. For this step, ensure that a cloth or a bucket is placed below the value to catch any water that may be released.
You then want to take your radiator key and insert it into the valve, then turn it anti-clockwise.
Ian pointed out: “As you do this, you should hear a hissing sound which is the air leaving the radiator. You can use the cloth to clear up any excess water that comes out.”
After this is done you need to close the valve. As soon as the sound stops coming from the radiator, you will need to tighten the valve back up.
The last step is to check the pressure on the boiler, if it is too low you can put more water into the system using a “filling loop”.
If the radiators are still not heating up properly, “it is likely that you may need a radiator or boiler repair and should call out an expert”, warned Ian.