Power Flushing – deep cleaning for your central heating system

What is powerflushing?

A power flush machine is a strong circulating pump attached to a storage tank with flow and return valves, which pushes heated water and chemical cleaner, known as sludge remover, around the central heating pipework, boiler and radiators.

It is most commonly used where a build up for sludge (see below) in the system is affecting the performance of the radiators and system in general.

What is central heating sludge?

Central Heating Systems corrode internally over time, producing black iron oxide sludge deposits in both the radiators and the pipes. These particles stick to all surfaces (particularly pipe bends and the bottom of radiators), causing premature failure of pumps and valves, cold & unbalanceable radiators, blocked boiler heat exchangers and blocked hot water heating coils.

The system becomes inefficient and the boiler has to work harder whilst creating less heat in the property.

The image opposite demonstrates just how much this sludge can clog a central heating pipe over time.

How does a power flush help?

The engineer connects the power flush machine (and sometimes a magnetic filter) to the central heating system pipe work by either removing the central heating pump or a radiator. He then flushes the whole system without removing any additional radiators.

The power flush machine is set up so water flows from the radiators to Magnet filter, collecting all the iron oxide sludge, before reaching the boiler to minimise debris entering boiler heat exchanger.

Chemical cleanser (or sludge remover as it is sometimes called) is added and boiler turned on.  The engineer ensures that radiator surface temperatures are measured to detect cold/rust spots.

If the engineer finds heavy sludge deposits in certain sections of the system, he can counter this by concentrating flow through individual radiators and vibrating the radiators until the cold spots are removed.

Small amounts of neutraliser are used to compensate for any residual chemical cleaner, then rust inhibitor is added and circulated throughout the system.

The power flush machine is then removed and the central heating system reinstated. The heating is turned on and the radiators are balanced to optimise the system efficiency.

In 99.9% of systems where sludge is an issue, a properly administered power flush will leave the system warmer, more efficient and create less strain on the boiler itself.   It may also extend the lifespan of your boiler and cut down on repair costs.

Act Now! Save Later!

For a free quotation on power flushing your own central heating system, please call us free on 0800 027 0061, or email us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and our fully trained staff will be happy to help.

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