Radiators will be hotter with no cold spots after 1 quick task engineer claims is 'easy'

If you want to use less energy and possibly lower your bills, it's worth looking at your central heating, specifically your radiators. Over time, water can drip out of leaky pipes or valves, and this leads to air pockets in your radiators. As air doesn't heat up as well as water, the radiators won't get as warm.

This also makes your boiler work harder, as it's trying to heat your home with less water. Bleeding a radiator is the way to fix this by letting the air out. Engineer Chris Houghton at HomeServe said, "Thankfully, bleeding radiators is a quick and easy process: you just need to know how to bleed a radiator."

Bleeding a radiator is simple and doesn't require a whole bunch of specialist tools. All you need to bleed your radiator are the following items:

• A radiator key
• A bucket or mug to catch the water
• A cloth to clean up any spills
• Safety gloves to protect yourself against any scalding hot water

Start by turning off your heating and waiting for the radiators to cool so they aren't too hot to touch.

Next, place a cloth below the radiator bleed valve. Locate the radiator bleed valve and ensure that a cloth or a bucket is placed below it to catch any water that may be released.

Bleed valves are typically located at the top corner of a radiator and look like a round hole with a square inside.

Insert the radiator key and turn it anti-clockwise. You should hear a hissing sound as the air escapes.

Turn the radiator key clockwise to close the valve when the hissing stops and water starts to leak out.

Repeat this process for any of the radiators that need bleeding in your home.

Check the boiler pressure. Bleeding radiators can sometimes lower your boiler pressure, so be sure to check this after you've finished bleeding your radiators.

If you have low boiler pressure, you will need to repressurise your boiler. To do so, refer to your boiler user manual.