There are plenty of ways to make radiators hotter and heat up faster without even thinking about having to get a new boiler. All of these tips take a fraction of the cost and many of them are even free. Plus, you don’t need expensive or specialist tools.
Make radiators hotter & heat up faster
Clear them
The fastest and cheapest way to make sure your radiators are heating the room properly is to remove any objects on them or underneath them. That’s because radiators work on the principle that hot air rises, i.e., by natural convection. Cold air is drawn up the radiator at the bottom and rises out warm at the top.
Any objects placed on or under the radiator will almost certainly interfere with this process, so be sure to keep your radiators clutter-free.
Dust them
Dusting radiators will ensure that air passes through them as easily as possible. Large clumps of dust and lint can obstruct the vanes and reduce their efficiency.
A long, thin duster will quickly remove this debris.
Balancing them
If one room is always colder and/or its radiator takes a long time to heat up, it may be a good idea to balance the radiators.
Balancing your radiators ensures that they heat up evenly, regardless of how close they are to the boiler. Click here for our guide on how to do this.
Bleed them
If one radiator is cold at the top but hot at the bottom, it’s due to air trapped inside. The air basically occupies the space where hot water should be.
You can quickly increase the radiator’s performance by bleeding this air out. Click here for our guide on how to do this.
Make radiators hotter with radiator fans
Radiator fans are small electric fans that sit either on the top or the bottom of your radiator. By drawing air through the vanes of the radiator, they help it to emit as much heat as possible.
You can get these from most DIY stores or heating merchants, and you don’t need a plumber or electrician to install them.
Removing radiator sludge
This may be particularly helpful if your radiator is hot at the top but cold at the bottom. The radiator can be isolated, removed from the wall, taken outside, and a garden hose can be connected to it for blasting out any sludge on the inside.
Make radiators hotter with a power flush
A power flush can give your radiators and heating system a massive efficiency boost.
If your heating system doesn’t contain a chemical inhibitor, oxygen in the water reacts with the metal of the radiators and pipework to form rust and other compounds which we know as sludge. This sludge can restrict the flow of water and block it completely. Not only can this massively reduce the efficiency of your heating system, it can also damage your boiler.
A power flush works by using jets of pressurised water to remove the sludge out of the system. Click here for our article on this topic.