Discover how to clean traditional steel radiators and remove impurities from modern aluminum radiators. Learn when a vacuum cleaner is your ally and when a hairdryer can be useful
The quality of heating can depend on many factors, but one of the easiest to address is the cleanliness of your radiators. Neglected radiators full of debris can operate up to 30% less efficiently. This can lead to higher energy consumption for heating if you live in a house.
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If you live in an apartment connected to a district heating system, your heating bill may not increase, but the temperature in your apartment might be lower than ideal. Cleaning your radiators requires just a little effort and mostly common household tools.
Cleaning Radiators: More Than Just Aesthetic – It Reduces Consumption
Cleaning radiators goes beyond wiping them down on the outside; it also involves removing accumulated debris in hard-to-reach places – behind the radiators and between the fins.
If you’ve never done this before, you may be surprised at what you find behind your radiators over the years. In addition to dust and cobwebs, you might find long-lost kitchen cloths, socks, pens, and small items. All of these elements block the flow of warm air. Moreover, each object creates an obstacle that traps dust, further obstructing airflow.
Therefore, the first step in cleaning should be removing all stuck objects from behind and inside the radiators. The next step is vacuuming all accessible areas, as this will minimize dust during subsequent cleaning. Use a narrow vacuum attachment to efficiently pick up debris.
The Vacuum Cleaner: Your Best Friend for Cleaning
Many recommend blowing out dirt with a hairdryer. This can be effective for the radiator itself but isn’t ideal for the rest of the house, as dust and debris will scatter throughout the room. This method is most effective during renovations, such as before painting, when furniture is removed from the room or covered, and the floors are protected.
A vacuum cleaner is much more suitable because it collects all the dust rather than dispersing it. Of course, the vacuum may not be able to reach the hardest-to-access places. The next trick is suitable for steel radiators with wider gaps between fins. To remove accumulated cobwebs and dust, you can use a bottle brush. This way, all the larger debris will be removed.
Finally, you can clean fine dust with a long, curved radiator painting brush. Wrap it with a piece of damp, old cotton cloth and wipe the dust from the inside of the fins, similar to painting the radiators. The key is to clean with downward strokes so that all the dirt falls onto the floor, where it can be easily cleaned.
Aluminum Radiators Are Easiest to Clean with a Brush
Aluminum radiators are slightly more challenging to clean because the gaps between the fins are narrower, making the interior of the radiator harder to access. For aluminum radiators, after using a vacuum cleaner, the best tool is a special radiator cleaning brush. You can purchase one for a few dollars at home goods stores or plasticware shops.
The brush is long and narrow, allowing access to the most distant areas, and in the case of aluminum radiators, access is usually from the top through openings designed for the flow of warm air.