designerradiators

There are clearly two very good reasons to look after your radiators properly. First, if they break, it can be very expensive to fix the problem and replace the radiator. Secondly, a broken radiator can often mean a burst pipe. This is clearly disastrous for your home. Given this, it’s important that your radiators are properly looked after and well maintained. Below, we’re going to teach you how to do this.

Keeping Them Clean
Radiators usually have a paint coating. It’s important to treat this with care by using non-harsh cleaning products. If the cleaning product you use is too harsh, it can strip the paint. When this happens, it’s much easier for the radiator to rust.

Clearly, a rusting radiator is a problem because it can lead to holes. However, small patches of rust can be dealt with relatively straightforwardly – ask your plumber for more details.

OK, so we’ve established that you shouldn’t use harsh chemicals to clean the radiator. To this end then, don’t use furniture polish or strong disinfectants. Instead, just use a slightly damp, warm, cloth and rub it over the radiator once or twice a month. This should be enough to keep it free from dust. Don’t forget to dry the radiator afterwards.

Prevent the Pipes from Freezing
One of the leading causes of burst pipes in the UK is the cold. If the water inside the radiator becomes too cold, it will freeze. This then expands in the system and can push out against weak spots within the radiator units and central heating system.

There are two things that you should do in order to minimise the risks of your pipes freezing:

1. Keep the central heating system on at night. You can turn it right down, so that it only comes on when the temperature is relatively low, but make sure that it cannot reach freezing point. This is especially true if you’re going on holiday.

This is the commonest time that freezing pipes burst. People think that they’re saving money by turning off the heating while they’re away, but they return to an unbelievably expensive problem instead. Not a good thing to return to!

2. Put anti-freeze in the system. Ask your plumber to do this for you, because it can be tricky and some radiators UK might be incompatible with anti-freeze liquids.

Keep Them Free of Air
If you find that your radiators are less efficient than they used to be, then it could be because there is air in the system. If this is the case, you can feel cold patches in various random places on the radiator/s.

This is simply to fix. All you need to do is release the air via the bleed valve. There are plenty of online videos and articles that can walk you through the process. It’s simple.

Keep the Radiator Free from Internal Debris
Over time, gunk can collect in your radiators. This can be from internal rusting or from lime scale. It’s not too problematic, but it will prevent radiators from working properly. if there are cold patches along the bottom of your radiators (and it isn’t due to air, which you can find out by bleeding and seeing if the problem persists), then you will need to flush the radiator/s or replace them. Contact your local plumber for further details about flushing or your local radiator UK store for details about replacing the units.

We hope that you now have a better idea about how to look after your radiators. For further help and advice, please visit http://www.designerradiatorsdirect.co.uk/