It was National Radiator Day yesterday (yes, such a day exists), so come and share your hot tips on how to keep your radiator snugly warm throughout the winter. That’s if you’ve switched them on yet.
From clunky cast iron to sleek white, how do you make sure your radiator stays in toasty tip-top condition?
And how often is it necessary to do those essential jobs like bleeding your radiator? Once a year, twice a year or perhaps never?
Bleeding your radiators
The first time it ever occurred to me that a radiator would need ‘maintaining’ was when I was a student. I had a big draughty room and a tiny, inefficient radiator. The room was freezing and by the time December came around I was wearing a hat to bed.
After many grumpy phone calls to my landlord complaining that the radiator needed replacing, the handy man came round and within two minutes my radiator chugged in to life. I marvelled that with the magic of a little key, I had the joy of fully-functioning central heating.
Clearly it’s best not to leave it that late – in fact now’s probably a good time of year to bleed your radiators before it gets too cold (to release trapped air).
Nowadays I’m lucky enough to live in a house that has under-floor heating. At this time of year it’s a real treat, rather than faffing around finding radiator keys or dealing with inefficient chugging radiators, I can just flick a switch and wait until my toes are nicely warmed by the floor boards.
Radiator maintenance tips
I’ve also discovered, thanks to National Radiator Day, that there are a few other tips that I can do to keep my radiators running efficiently throughout the winter. Things like dusting the convection fins (the zigzagging metal strips on radiators) and rearranging furniture to help airflow. It’d be interesting to hear if you have any other tips on how to keep your heating and radiators in tip-top condition.
So, have you bled your radiators yet? Oh, and don’t be shy about sharing your radiator disasters – have you virtuously tried to flush your radiator of gunk only to have radiator sludge ruin your carpets?