How to bleed baseboard heaters. If your hot water heating system is circulated through radiators, there may be an excessive amount of air trapped within the piping itself. If this isn’t bled out on a regular basis, it can make your HVAC run less efficiently.
Bleeding the radiators regularly can help save you energy and energy savings will be one of your top concerns as an owner of a home.
As such, you should leave the bleeding to professionals with experience dealing with HVACs so as not to risk issues or hazards that could lead to costly repairs or replacements.
If not life-threatening ones, then at least ones that are going to cost you all precious time and hard-earned money on your end.
How to bleed baseboard heaters
Baseboard heaters can be difficult to maintain, but they can look good underneath windows and add a beautiful design element to any room.
If you have one installed, you know that in order to keep your home warm and comfortable, you’ll need to bleed the radiator.
You’ll want to regularly clean the radiators with a soft brush and water because baseboard heaters work by using hot water that runs through pipes embedded in the walls or floors of your home.
These pipes can become clogged or rusty if they aren’t properly cared for, which means leaky water will create mold. So take care of your radiator because it’s an important part of keeping your home as safe and healthy as possible.
The preparation
Putting on a pair of work gloves will prevent you from burning your hands when bleeding the radiator.
First, find the valve on your baseboard radiator and turn off your central heating so no additional air gets pushed into the system while bleeding it.
This helps get air all out of it so you can then fill another part of it up with cooled water.
Locate the baseboard radiator valve
Open the valve on your radiator. Look for pipes leading into your floors and a floor-mounted radiator system that has bleed valves.
These are often located next to the pipes, or behind a small opening at the very end of the radiator. This can help avoid water damage to your floor from air pockets in your heating system.
Screwdrivers or radiator keys on hand
The radiator has a valve that can easily be snapped open with the use of either a special tool or a flat-head screwdriver.
Draining Radiator Water
Before draining the radiator, put a bucket under it and make sure you have turned off the heat in the house. If you don’t do this, you will have a big mess on your hands.
You should also consider using a large coffee can or plastic pitcher instead of an old pot because the liquid will be hot.
When taking out the drainpipe, do not turn off its valve too hard because it might pop off and if that happens there could be quite a mess to clean up.
Make sure you wear protective gloves when removing the pipe in order to avoid burns from any steam or hot water that might come out while handling your project.
By turning the valve
Now, rotate the valve on the radiator’s base. Once the key or screwdriver has opened it all the way, leave it that way while no water is draining out, then turn it completely off.
Tighten the radiator valve
You can now tighten the valve using the screwdriver or key, once the radiator has been bled. Check to see if any water trickles out as you do this. Continue loosening and tightening until no more water leaks.
Final Step
Repeat the steps if you need to bleed any additional radiators. Make sure to check your boiler if you experience an excessive leak because within these leaks are steam & water and it would be unsafe for a radiator not to be serviceable (water could get trapped inside and either scald yourself as well as/or cause an explosion.)
Now, you should have finished with all of the other fixings. Congratulations, your baseboard radiator maintenance is complete.
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