Sludge in the Central Heating System

Central heating systems are one of the most expensive components to install and operate in a house. An unmaintained central heating system not only shortens the life of the system but also proves to be inefficient, which simply means more heating bills as you are wasting a lot of energy. Doing a maintenance check from time to time increases the lifespan of your central heating system and helps it work efficiently.

A common problem we face in central heating is, “Sludge”. It's mainly caused by the dust and rust build up that gathers over time when the heating system maintenance is ignored. This can lead to many problems for you and can affect your system’s productivity due to the lack of circulation.

How to diagnose a sludge:

There are a few indications of sludgy water, the main one being the colour, when bleeding your radiators you will notice stained water coming out from the radiator, this is the start of sludge in your heating system.

How to get rid of sludge?

Power flushing is a general cleaning process which helps eliminate pledges of corrosion or any other type of remains made inside the system. Impurities inside can cause the system to lower its effectiveness.

It is suggested that you get your system power flushed, since modern boilers are condensing heating systems any type of impurities may damage the internal pipework.

A high flow pressure water pump is connected to the system which flushes out all unnecessary contaminations. Water with the help of industrial cleaning agents like sludge crust breakers and corrosion inhibitor help cleaning and flushing the whole system.

Your energy bills will go high because of the extra time your radiators will be taking to heat your home.

How much does it cost to get it treated?

A power flush costs around £500 and it will take up to 8 hours to complete. It is highly recommended that you get your system power flushed when you are planning to get a new boiler attached to an old heating system because if you let it build up it will cost you more in the long run.