How to Bleed Your Radiators

Are your radiators not heating the house as well as they should be? Radiators can become inefficient if air gets trapped inside as this causes cold spots. It’s possible to bleed the radiators yourself and it will save you a lot of money and make your home warmer! If you’re not comfortable with bleeding radiators yourself and are looking for a Kingston central heating engineer, get in touch with us.

How do you tell if a radiator needs bleeding?

There are two key ways to recognise whether your radiator needs bleeding:

1. The radiator is taking a long time to heat up
2. The radiator has cold spots near the top

It might not be every radiator that needs bleeding so check the bottom and top of each one to see if it is heating properly.

Steps for bleeding your radiators

Before you begin the bleeding process, you want to make sure that you’ve switched off the central heating. This is very important because if you don’t turn it off there is the possibility of water escaping.

Next, you want to open the bleed valve using either a radiator key or flat screwdriver. This will release the trapped air that is causing cold spots in the radiator. Shut the valve again when you no longer hear the sound of the air escaping.

You’ll then need to check the pressure gauge on the boiler. Sometimes bleeding a radiator can lower the pressure too much – to raise it again you need to follow the instructions in your boiler manual.

If you’re unsure about this process and would like assistance with bleeding radiators, we have a number of gas safe registered engineers who provide a great Kingston central heating service.

Make sure to run a final test

Once the radiators have been bled, it’s a good idea to run a final check and make sure the process has worked. Switch the central heating back on and check for any cold spots or inconsistencies in temperature. You should also check that none of the valves are leaking as this can cause further problems. If your radiators are heating properly again, then you have been successful!

Hopefully, this guide to bleeding radiators has helped you to keep your house toasty and energy efficient! If you’re still experiencing problems with your central heating, contact us here or give us a call on 0208 6407907.