What do engineers mean when they talk about powerflushing the system?

A guide from the experts on Powerflushing

At some time in their lifespan, everyone’s central heating system will need to be powerflushed. The term may be a little bit confusing so we would like to explain what powerflushing is, how it works, and why it is necessary.

PowerflushingBasically, over time our radiators and pipes fill up with large amounts of rust, sludge and debris. If you don’t deal with it, you compromise the efficiency of your system. Little issues such as rooms feeling colder than others may also arise.

Powerflushing is more often than not the only solution when these type of problems occur. The high pressure and the high flow rate helps to move and filter out the debris and sludge from the system.

When installing a new replacement boiler into an existing central heating/hot water system, a powerflush is usually necessary. The old system may have never had one over its lifespan and will most probably be in need of one.

One way of preventing sludge and debris from building up is to have a magnetic filter installed into your central heating system. This is much easier for the engineer to carry out on a new boiler installation and something that he might recommend. It’s sometimes possible to install a magnetic filter into an existing system.

Some warning signs to look out for:

Knowing when your heating system is ready for a powerflush is pretty much impossible. Fortunately, there are a few signs to look out for that might help you:

  • Radiators suddenly need bleeding more
  • Cold areas on radiators despite bleeding
  • Dirty water when bleeding the radiators
  • Murky and/or bizarre tap water flow
  • Lots of noise coming from the boiler, or it keeps cutting out
  • Rooms taking longer to warm up than usual
  • Some rooms feeling warmer than others
  • Blocked pipes

A system powerflush normally takes about 6 hours but could take a full day depending on the size of your system and the amount of debris etc.

A full system powerflush varies in price depending on the size and location of your system but usually start from £300. The service may be included in new boiler installations.

For more information on powerflushing, or to speak to us about boiler installation, repairs or maintenance, please call 0800 311 8990.