Take care of your home heating system by learning how to safely and effectively bleed a radiator.
In most cases, this issue is easy to resolve by bleeding the radiator.
Bleeding the radiator refers to opening the bleed valve and allowing the air inside the radiator to exit.
Credit:zoranm / Getty Images
One common symptom is that a radiator feels colder at the top than near the bottom.
This is a sign that air is preventing the water from circulating properly.
Turn off the heating system and wait for the heat to dissipate.
Check to ensure the radiator is cool before proceeding.
Alternatively, you might be able to usea screwdriver or wrenchto operate the bleed valve.
Use the cloth to catch the drops, and keep your eye on the valve.
Tighten the bleed valve to stop the flow of water by turning the bleed screw clockwise.
Repeat this process with every radiator.
Work from the radiator that is further away from the boiler to the closest.
Start on the lowest floor of the home and move up one floor at a time.
It should have a pressure level of around 12 to 15 psi to function properly.
If your boiler has an automatic fill system, this shouldnt be a problem.
Start this process with the radiator on thelowest floor of the home, located the farthest from the boiler.
The next radiator should be next closest to the boiler on the same floor.
In this fashion, work toward the boiler until you have bled all radiators on the lowest floor.
You then need to move up one floor and start the process with the radiator furthest from the boiler.
Bleeding them out of order shouldn’t cause any significant problems.
Just do your best to adhere to this order to optimize the results.
