Flushing out radiators?

[Trinacheile]

Hello,

Got a radiator efficiency question:

We are in a house that has 4 old radiators that only heat up at the top, and are stone cold in the middle and at the bottom. There is one new radiator in the bathroom and that gives great heat.

We've bled the old radiators and it's had no effect, so from reading this forum and looking at DIY sites we're thinking they are probably clogged up, with limescale or general crud. Plumbing experts - does that sound likely?

We'd like to have a go flushing them out, but we're not sure how to do this, and if it's limescale inside, I presume it's stuck inside like in a kettle, so it would need something to dissolve it? (we use vinegar for this in the kettle...)

We'd be thinking of trying to go the DIY route if it's possible, just to save on the sponds.
Has anyone had any experience of doing this themselves?

Or if that's not a practical idea for plumbing novices like ourselves, would you have an estimate of costs for this?

Thanks!

 

[DavyJones]

You could remove rads and run a hose through them outside. Would not recommend to a novice as it is a pain and can/will get messy.

Power flush is the way to go but isn't cheap. From €450 inc upwards.

What you can do is add a cleansing agent to system and leave for a week and flush out. Read and follow instructions carefully.

 

[villa 1]

As Davy Jones says drain down the system completely and take off the rads(diconnecting radiator valves), bring them outside and flush out using a garden hose. Be carefull, the black/brown gunk that will drip out of the radiators stains badly. Give the radiators a good shaking around and you'll be suprise how much gunk comes out
If your rads are bunged up with gunk it could be a sign that your heating system is taking in air/water which will lead to the corrosion of steel radiators in your heating system. Hope this does'nt confuse you.
Try the flushing/cleaning job first and then add the corrosion resistant liquid. Brand name: Fernox

 

[gary71]

If you check the water and find you have any solids or sludge which is black and has a sandy Constancy, i would advise a power flush as Davy mentions, this is because solids tends to sit in pipes at the lowest point and is hard to clear out, so if you go to the trouble of flushing yourself and leave any cack in the system and then add a inhibitor you could end up with more problems than you started with when the inhibitor mixes with any dirt in the system, the important thing is to only add inhibitor to a system that's 100% clean, have a look at these web sites for further info [broken link removed] & , Gary.