Royal flush: all you need to know about central heating flushing

It’s a nightmare situation, firing up your central heating for the first time when the temperature drops, expecting a warm welcome, only to find your system is riddled with cold spots, heats up too slowly, makes odd noises or simply doesn’t work at all. If this is a familiar situation, you could benefit from a central heating flush.

What is a central heating flush?

During a central heating flush, powerful chemicals are used to scour the inside of your pipes and radiators, getting rid of all the sludge and gunk that accumulates over the year. The grime in your radiator is made up of all the rust, impurities and dirt from the water, and, in the worst cases, can clog up your radiators entirely.

To get your heating system back up to scratch, you’ll probably need three separate flushes carried out – two with strong chemicals that attack the trapped grime and scour it off each of your radiators, then a third with fresh water to get every last impurity out of the system.

When should you have it done?

Flushing your central heating system isn’t just an emergency measure; we recommend flushing at least once every ten years to reap benefits, from longer boiler life to more equal dispersal of heat in your home. The longer you wait, the more grime will have accumulated, and the harder it will be to remove it. This increases the time it takes, as well as the cost, and necessitates more invasive work on your house.

How much can it cost?

The cost really depends how big your home is and how many radiators you have. Some firms will offer very low prices, but beware – you get what you pay for. A low price is likely to mean low quality, too, and you may find that you don’t get the proper power flush you paid for. They may even cut costs by using substandard chemicals that can damage your central heating system, leaving you worse off than you were in the first place.

If you’re looking for a reputable plumber and heating engineer you can trust to perform a high-quality central heating flush in your home, get in touch with us at Shaw’s Plumbing and Heating today.