Mr Fix It

So what is Power Flushing?

Central heating systems are made up from many different metals, including steel radiators. With water flowing round inside the system to carry the heat around, it is only natural that the steel radiators will rust.

This gets pumped round the pipes of the system at quite high speeds and then it slows down in the radiators.

When the central heating is turned off the iron sludge settles in the radiators and pipes at the bottom of the system and so stops the water from flowing round as it should do. If it is left, it will eventually block the pipes to radiators and jam other components like the diverter valve which determins whether central heating is on or just water heating.

It is quite a lengthy process and in an average house it can take nearly all day to remove the sludge and then the cleaning chemicals from the system.

As long as the sludge is not allowed to build up too much then the central heating system can often be returned back to fairly normal running condition.

All manufacturers insist that a heating system is power flushed before a new boiler is fitted to the system, otherwise they will void the warranty.