‘Easy remedy’ to remove radiator sludge to save on 25% on heating bill

Heatable demonstrate how to bleed a radiator

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With the cost of living continuing to rise, households are looking for easy yet effective ways to save on their energy bills. According to heating expert, Sam Price, founder of Heatable, something as simple as cleaning radiators could reduce bills by 25 percent. Recent research conducted by Enertek International found that sludge in your system can “increase your heating bills by as much as 25 percent”.

Sludge is essentially a mix of dirt particles and bits of rust (iron oxide) that break off from the pipework, radiators, and soldered joints over time. So, the older the system is, the more likely it is to have some heating sludge build up. 

Dirt and rust combine to make a gooey liquid. As this mixture passes through the central heating system components, some of the particles settle and accumulate. 

As time goes by, sludge can clog the system to a point where the heat is patchy on radiators, radiators don’t work properly, or don’t heat up at all.

Sludge may sound like a minor problem; however, it can make way for “bigger issues” and make a heating system “much more inefficient”, according to Sam. 

He explained: “Sludge slows down the system, reducing its efficiency and increasing your energy bills. 

“Over time sludge can build up in your system, which is the result of rust and debris. Among the problems associated with sludge accumulation is that it can disrupt water circulation, leading to cold spots in radiators and reduced heat output.

“Cold spots on the radiator, cold radiator bottom, and the radiator taking an exceptionally long time to heat up are all signs of a system with sludge.

“It’s not just decreased efficiency that’s a concern of dirty central heating water either. In fact, poor quality heating water is one of the leading causes of boiler breakdowns in the UK and is commonly responsible for the corrosion of key components such as the heat exchanger.”

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The good news is that dirty heating water is “very easy to remedy” with a standard “power flush”, according to the pro.

A power flush is essentially a deep, intense cleanse of your heating system using water and a concoction of chemicals.

A power flush (or any flush for that matter) should preferably be performed every five to six years to ensure the quality of heating systems water is maintained to a “high standard” and help “prevent damage” to metallic components, as well as the development of blockages.

If it has been more than five years since your last power flush, it’s probably time to consider one sooner rather than later.

For those who think they have sludge blocking their radiators they should get a Gas Safe registered engineer to have a look.

If you need a power flush, the engineer will connect a machine to your system. This will push a powerful, low pressure flow of liquid through your system. This dislodges sludge and rust, removing it from your radiators and boiler.

It can take several hours to flush out a radiator system. It can take even longer if you have a larger system or there’s a lot of sludge.

A central heating system will contain fresh, clean water after the power flush. The engineer will probably add an inhibitor solution. This liquid chemical will stop sludge building up again.

This chemical breaks stubborn particles down and puts them back into circulation, where they’ll eventually hit the scale reducer or the magnetic system filter (also known as a radiator sludge magnet).

For those who have just one or two radiators not working correctly, the cheaper option is to replace them. This will be a small fraction of a power flush cost.

What’s more, newer radiators are around 50 percent more efficient than old radiators. So, this could improve the heat in homes, and save money.

After replacing the offending radiators, a quick manual central heating flush will usually be enough to get a heating system working again.

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