What does Bleeding a Radiator mean?
Bleeding a radiator is releasing trapped air from the heating system in your house.
Air pockets in your heating system stop hot water from circulating properly. This means that it takes longer to warm your house up.
One thing that you can do to help keep your house warm and make sure your home is more energy efficient is to bleed your radiators.
When do you know your radiators need bleeding?
If you're not sure if you need to bleed your radiators there are a few thing you can keep an eye out for that will let you know when your radiators need some care and attention.
1. Cold spots at the top of the radiator when the bottom is warm
2. Gurgling or bubbling noises coming from the radiator
3. Uneven heating across rooms. Is your living room hot when your kitchen is cold?
You should also try and bleed your radiators every year usually in autumn or after any major plumbing or heating work.
How to bleed a radiator.
First, if you are a tenant who thinks they need their radiators bled. Please contact our customer services team or Robert Heath who are the main providers of our heating solutions across Wales.
Robert Heath: 0333 0141000
You can also WhatsApp Robert Heath on 07700 160200 and email directly to them on cs@robertheath.co.uk
FCHA Customer Services: 0292 0703758
You can also email us on customerservices@fcha.org.uk
If you are doing it on your own, make sure you have the following ready:
Radiator bleed key (or a flathead screwdriver, check your radiators)
Cloth
Old Towel
Container like a Tupperware to catch some water.
1 - Turn the heating on and check each of your radiators for any with cold patches. If they aren't cold then there is no need to bleed them.
2 - Turn your heating off and wait for the radiators to get cold again.
3 - Place an old towel on the floor and the container under the valve on your radiator.
4 - Use your radiator key (or screwdriver) to very slowly open the valve turning the key anti-clockwise. It might be tough to open which is where your cloth comes in handy.
5 - Open it very slightly so that you hear a hissing noise. That's the air escaping!
6 - Once the hissing stops and water starts pouring out, turn the valve clockwise to tighten.
7 - Run the cloth over the valve and check there is no water leaking.
Do this to all of the radiators you identified in step one. Once this is done your radiators will heat up a lot quicker!
You may need to check the pressure on your boiler. It should be between 1.0 and 1.5 bars and 2.0 bars when its on.
British Gas have a boiler pressure guide on their website that you can follow. https://www.britishgas.co.uk/heating/guides/boiler-pressure.html
Remember, if you're a tenant at FCHA then you can contact us or Robert Heath to get your radiators bled.
Robert Heath: 0333 0141000
You can also WhatsApp Robert Heath on 07700 160200 and email directly to them on cs@robertheath.co.uk
FCHA Customer Services: 0292 0703758
You can also email us on customerservices@fcha.org.uk