Reasons why you might need to bleed your radiator
If your radiator isn’t getting hot all over and has some cold patches, it won’t be working very efficiently and you’ll be paying more for your heating bill as it’s not working correctly and you’re not feeling the full effect. One of the best ways to solve this is to bleed your radiator, this entails realising out some of the air that might be trapped inside. If you follow these simple steps you can start feeling the full effect of your heating and run your home more efficiently.
You will need only two items to do this:-
- A radiator key or a flat-head screwdriver
- A couple of cloths and/or a bowl
How to fix the problem
Turn on your heating
Turn on your heating and check every radiator turned on and allow some time for them to fully heat up before moving onto the next step. This helps to build up all the pressure in the heating system, as well as enabling you to check which radiators need bleeding.
Locate the radiators that have trapped air and need bleeding
Check every radiator for cold patches, particularly towards the top of the radiator, generally, it will be cold toward the top of the radiator and hot at the bottom. Be careful as they may be very hot! If a radiator has a cold spot it may need venting.
Venting the radiators
It’s time to get to work. You will find a small valve at the top of the radiator. Attach the radiator key to the square part in the centre. Hold the key with a small cloth as some dirty water might come out also keep your bowl to hand just in case, slowly turn your radiator key anti-clockwise for about half a turn then you will hear a hissing sound as the gas is leaving the radiator. Hold the radiator key until the noise stops and water starts coming out. Be quick to close it back up to avoid getting water everywhere!
Check your heating pressure
Locate your boiler and on the front will be a little gauge that displays your heating pressure. If the pressure is too low and in the red section, you’ll need to top up the water using the lever or tap on your boiler. If you are unsure where this is please locate your manufacturer’s instructions and this will tell you where the valve is and what the optimal level is and give you guidance on how to re-pressurise your boiler, and if you’re still not sure, It’s time to call in a pro.
Check your radiators again
To find out if it has worked, check all your radiators for cool spots again. It’s also a good idea to check that the valves aren’t leaking after you have vented out all the air in your radiators.