Toggle Nav
fast delivery
Fast Delivery
With our own fleet.
fast delivery

Trusted Service Award
fast delivery
Free Click and Collect
Click and collect from any of our stores.

How to Bleed a Radiator

How to Bleed a Radiator

How to Bleed a Radiator

It is important to bleed your home radiators to prevent them from not working. Over time air becomes trapped in your radiator and will stop the flow of water from heating the radiator. Bleeding a radiator is the process of removing the trapped air to ensure that your heating system is energy efficient.  

 

How often should you bleed a radiator?

Only as often as required. When you feel that your radiators are omitting less heat, then this is the time to bleed them. You should check at least once a year for losses in efficiency. If you think you need to replace your radiators, Mr Central Heating have a large range of single, double and column radiators to choose from. 

 

How to tell if a radiator needs bleeding

  1. Turn your central heating on and make sure all the radiator valves are turned up to maximum or fully open.

  2. Check each radiator individually and run your hand along the area of the radiator. If you feel cold spots then this could be air or sludge. Air tends to accumulate at the top of the radiator so check there first.

 

How to bleed a radiator:

  1. Switch off the central heating and be careful; if the system is still hot then the water in the rads will also be hot. If you need to wait for the system to cool down then do so until your are comfortable with the temperature.

  2. If you have a radiator key you will need to use this to open the radiator valve. We recommend keeping this as close to the radiator as possible, so you know where to find it. If you are unable to find the key then you could use a flat head screwdriver in some cases or purchase a new one . Towards the top of the radiator you will find the valve. Carefully attach the key to the valve to lock onto position. If you are using a screwdriver you will need to place the head into the groove.

  3. Make sure you have a cloth handy to mop up and spillages and use another cloth to hold the key or screwdriver. Begin turning the key anti clockwise slowly and you will begin to hear a sound as the gas starts to escape. It is important to do let the air out slowly because once the gas has escaped liquid will begin to spill out.

  4. When the liquid begins to spill out it is time to close the valve by turning the key or screwdriver clockwise.

  5. The final step is to check the pressure on your boiler. You will find the pressure gauge on the boiler and you can adjust the pressure by using the lever called the filling loop.

If you're still having issues, we recommend finding a professional to investigate further, you can find some local plumbers in our Find an Installer tool.