Radiators are essential for heating homes during the colder months, so it’s important to ensure they’re working efficiently – one woman shared her simple trick
Radiators are essential for keeping our homes warm during the chilly season, so it’s crucial they’re working at their best.
When one of Angela Patrone’s radiators wasn’t heating up as it should, she feared she’d need to call in a professional. But after checking out the British Gas website, lifestyle reporter Angela discovered that trapped air in the system could be the culprit.
This air can block the flow of water, leaving the radiator cold or only partially warm. Bleeding the radiator to release this trapped air, allowing the water to circulate and heat the radiator effectively.
Initially, Angela was apprehensive, thinking it would be a complex process despite online guides suggesting otherwise. But to her surprise, it was straightforward and quick.
She explained: “Before beginning, I switched off the boiler and lowered the heat setting to avoid the risk of scalding. The next step was to locate the bleed valve – this was on the top of my radiator. It looks like a small, round vent with a square nut in the centre.
“With a towel at the ready and a radiator key (a special key used for bleeding radiators), I slowly inserted the key into the bleed valve, turning it anti-clockwise to allow the trapped air to escape.”
At this point, Angela heard a hissing sound that continued for some time – but this was because her radiators hadn’t been bled in a while. She added: “After the hissing sound stopped, water began to leak from the valve – at this point, I immediately closed the valve by turning the radiator key clockwise.”
With the radiator bled, it was time to switch the boiler back on and monitor the pressure. Angela observed that the boiler pressure had fallen below one bar after bleeding the radiator, indicating a need to boost the pressure.
Ideally, you want your boiler’s pressure to sit between one and two bars. Angela added: “To increase the pressure on my combi boiler, I opened both valves to allow cold water to enter the system, keeping an eye on the pressure gauge.
“I then closed both valves when the pressure gauge reached 1.5 bars. This process took me just three minutes and resulted in a hotter radiator that now heats up faster.”
