Radiators are a vital part of our home, providing a great amount of heat and making our lives much more comfortable. However, there can be times when they emit strange noises which, over time, can become quite annoying.
In this article we'll look at the most common radiator noises and what might be causing them.
If you live in a hard water area, you are more likely than others to experience what sounds like a banging coming from your radiators.
Because the water in your area contains more minerals, the water in your pipes will often leave limescale deposits on the insides of your heating components.
Over time, this can cause the space through which water flows to narrow, meaning everything has to work much harder, especially your boiler and pump.
In these situations, the noise might indicate that there is an issue with your boiler, so it's best to bring in a professional as soon as possible to diagnose the problem and prevent a complete breakdown.
When people complain about noisy radiators, it's very often due to the fact that they can hear a loud gurgling sound. A rad gurgling is one of the most common complaints.
The good news is that a gurgling radiator is rarely anything serious and is usually just a symptom of air being trapped somewhere in your heating system.
Over time, a well-used central heating system will take in a little bit of air, which eventually gets stuck somewhere and prevents the free flow of water. As well as the gurgling, you may also find that certain radiators get hot at the bottom and remain cold at the top.
A simple solution is to take a radiator bleed key and loosen the bleed valve on your radiators in order to let out any trapped air. You'll hear the air hissing as it escapes and can tighten the valve once water starts coming out.
If bleeding your rads doesn't solve the problem, then give a professional a call.
Clicking, creaking or groaning are all adjectives that describe the same thing when it comes to radiators.
You'll often hear this when your heating first comes on in the morning or evening and it should be considered perfectly normal rather than anything that requires attention.
This creaking is the sound of hot water coming into contact with the cold metal of the radiator. As the metal warms up it expands, which is what you're hearing when you hear the groaning or clicking.
Once the metal is fully up to temperature, this noise will stop then, when you switch off your heating, you'll probably hear it again as the metal contracts.
If you only hear clicking and groaning when your heating comes on or goes off, then you can consider things to be functioning properly. If you continue hearing these noises at other times, the obviously you should brining it a professional.
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