Bleeding a radiator is the process of releasing trapped air from the system, allowing hot water to flow freely and evenly throughout the system, maximizing its performance. If you bleed a radiator with the heating on, you run the risk of scalding or burning yourself just from touching the radiator or radiators, while hazardous hot water could also spurt out. Therefore, you should never try to bleed radiators with the heating switched on for safety reasons. To bleed a radiator, you should follow these simple steps:
- Make sure your heating is off and the radiators are cold.
- Hold an old cloth, or a jug, under the bleed valve, and insert the bleed key.
- Turn the key anti-clockwise to open the valve. You should hear a hissing sound as the trapped air escapes.
- When water starts to come out, close the valve by turning the key clockwise.
- Check the pressure gauge on your boiler to ensure that the pressure hasnt dropped too low. If it has, you may need to re-pressurize your system.
Its important to note that bleeding your radiators is not the same as draining or flushing your central heating system. You may need to repeat the process of bleeding radiators at the beginning of the heating season and again as needed.
