Rafal Kaczynski
Dear Fred If you found that the radiators in your home were not as warm as they used to be but are still warm around the top and sides but cold in the middle and bottom then you probably have radiator sludge, something which will happen to most central heating systems sooner or later. Radiator sludge is a mix of dirt from water and iron oxide (rust) that results from the inside of your radiator corroding over time which settles at the bottom of the radiator and interferes with the correct flow of the hot water. You can see in the diagram to the right how the sludge restricts the flow and leaves some areas of the radiator cold. Not only does this sludge create an inefficient heating system meaning you are spending more to keep your house warm but it can also damage the boiler, heat pump and valves which can prove very costly indeed. If your system is more than 10 years old then it’s highly likely you will have a build-up of corrosion. There is two ways of removal sludge in radiator 1) manual ( removal of 1 radiator a time and flushing with a garden hose ) 2) power flushing to all system and radiators( can be done by plumber ir gas engineer) I hope this will help Best regards Rafal
