How Often Should You Drain Your Heating System?

by | Feb 3, 2025 | Heating Services

SUMMARY

It can be a hassle when draining your heating system, but it is an essential maintenance task that can impact your system’s longevity and efficiency. It can prevent damage from being done, improve energy efficiency, and help increase its lifespan. In this article, you will learn about all the benefits in detail and discover what you need to do to get them. Read on and gain in-depth insight on how to drain your heating system.

Understanding the Importance of Draining Your Heating System

Why Regular Draining is Essential

Regularly draining your heating system has several benefits. One of them is helping prevent sediment buildup. Sediment builds up inside your heating system over time, especially for boilers and radiators. After a while, it can build up so much that it can hinder heat transfer, reducing its effectiveness. When you drain your system, it helps stop that from happening. Sediment buildup has many side effects. For example, it can reduce your heating system’s efficiency, increase the risk of corrosion, cause more wear and tear, and even compromise the quality of your drinking water. This is why it is so important to drain your heating system regularly. Not only does it impact your heating system’s life span and your wallet, but it can also pose a health risk for your family!

Recommended Frequency for Draining

How often should you do it now that you know the consequences of not draining your heating system? Luckily, it is not something you have to do often. You do it yearly, or if you want the best results, twice a year. Doing it twice a year will help flush out minerals and sediment that can accumulate more quickly. Do keep in mind that it does depend on where you live. For example, if you live in an area with hard water, you’ll probably have to drain your heating system more often.
A man inspecting a heating system.

How to Properly Drain Your Heating System

Preparation Steps Before Draining

First, gather your tools and have them on hand before you do anything with the radiators. These tools include a radiator bleed key, adjustable pliers, a drain bucket, old rags and towels around the house, and gloves. Now that your tools are ready, take other steps to ensure your safety. First, turn off the heating system and wait for about an hour until it cools. Doing this helps prevent any burns from occurring. You turn off the central heating system and eliminate exposure to hot water. You can also prepare the area by placing towels on the floor beneath the radiator and valves to catch any spills. You can shut off the radiator valves, open the bleed valve using your trusty radiator bleed key, and disconnect the radiator valves using your adjustable spanner. Now, you’ve properly prepared yourself to begin the draining process.

Step-by-Step Draining Process

After you have turned the heating system off, shut the water supply off, and located the drain-off valve, it is time to begin draining it. Use a hosepipe to attach it to the drain-off valve. Ensure it is nice and secure before you open the drain-off valve. Next, you can bleed the radiators. This means you can open the bleed valves on all the radiators, starting from high to low. This allows air into the system, which speeds up the draining process by allowing water to flow out more quickly. Just keep an eye on the process, which can range from 20 minutes to a full hour, depending on your system. Once you have sufficiently drained the heating system and no water is flowing out, you can close the bleed valves and tighten them. Then, you can carefully remove the hosepipe. Have any towels ready if residual water spills as you remove the hose pipe from the drain valve. Lastly, you can close all the valves and refill your heating system with fresh water. As a bonus, you can add a cleaning inhibitor, which should help prevent corrosion and buildup for your radiator in the future. Congrats! You have successfully learned how to drain your heating system.
A man inspecting a boiler.

Recognizing When Your Heating System Needs Draining

Symptoms Indicating a Drain is Necessary

Now that you have learned the negative side effects and how to drain your heating system, you should learn the common signs that indicate your heating system needs draining. For example, if your heating system makes unusual noises like banging or knocking. This is usually indicative of trapped debris within the radiator or boiler. Another symptom can be cold spots in the radiator due to sludge buildup or trapped air. Other visible signs can be a noticeable increase in your energy bills, visible rust or dirty water coming from the bleed valves, or clogged pipes.
You can drain the heating system yourself, but if the problems are not resolved, it is time to call a professional. This is especially true if the heating system is still acting up after a recent draining, if it is old (e.g. a boiler is over 15 years old), or if the pilot light has turned yellow or is flickering.

The inner wiring of a heating system.

Conclusion

In conclusion, regularly draining your heating system prevents negative side effects, improves its longevity, and prevents any health risks from occurring. Draining your heating system is an annual task that shouldn’t be neglected, whether you or a professional does it. As long as a consistent schedule is kept for draining your heating system, it should have a long life and not experience frequent issues.
If you are interested in professional heating services that can reduce the hassle of heating system draining or if you need an expert to help inspect your heating system and ensure there are no minor performance issues that could develop into costly problems, Ambient Cooling and Heating can help you out! With our extensive knowledge of heating systems, we can make sure they stay in tip-top shape. Contact us and book an appointment today!

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