I’m a plumber – a free radiator trick can cut your energy bills by £200 a year
IF the recent cold snap had you wondering how to save money on your heating bills, one little-known trick could save you £200 a year.
Winston Davis, plumber and founder of Avenue Heating, has revealed what it might mean if your radiators are cold at the bottom.
He said it could be a sign you have sludge building up and blocking the pipes.
Sludge build-up makes it harder for your radiator to heat up and costs you more money in the long run as your system has to work overtime.
But you can clear out a blocked radiator without having to burst the bank, or spend any money at all - by using a mallet.
But bear in mind you can only use the trick if you have a magnetic filter installed.
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Magnetic filters collect debris from within your heating system before it's given a chance to gather and form a sludge.
If you don't have a magnetic filter system, you can buy them for as little as £60.
Winston said: "If you have a magnetic filter installed on your system, you can take a light kitchen mallet and tea towel and gently bang along the bottom of the radiator from one end to the other.
";This will help to dislodge any sludge that is building up, send it through the system to your magnetic filter and allow the radiator to heat up more efficiently."
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Winston said clearing out any blocked radiators could save you around £200 on your heating bills each year, without factoring in the cost of buying a magnetic filter.
But, he warned, if the sludge has been building up for a while, you might have to get a professional in to flush the system out properly.
He added: "If the blockages are severe, like blocked arteries in the human body, if left for too long, they can become physically blocked and lead the system to have a cardiac arrest.
"This can cost thousands to resolve."
How else can I save money on my heating bills when it's cold?
Cold weather can cause all sorts of problems for your heating system, especially your pipes.
If they freeze during a sudden cold snap and then burst, it can damage your property and cost a bomb to repair.
But there are some tricks you can use to stop this from happening.
Installing pipe insulation is one step you can take - you can get one meter from Toolstation from just 99p.
But obviously, bear in mind you might have to buy a fair few rolls if you want to cover all your pipes.
The next thing you can do is leave the heating on overnight. This will obviously cost you a little bit more, but you don't have to have it on full blast.
A lot of radiators have a snowflake setting which, if triggered, will allow minimal water flow between pipes and radiators to prevent freezing.
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When it comes to saving money on your heating bills more generally, you could heed one dad's advice - moving your thermostat.
It only takes 30 seconds and could slash your bills by £250 a year.