AS Summer is over, it won't be long till we start to fire up the radiators in our homes once more.

But how do you bleed a radiator? Here's all you need to know...

Radiators need to be bled when they have air trapped inside them. 

This is because the air stops warm water from circulating around your radiator. 

It's recommended that you bleed your radiators once a year - even if they are working properly.

Many homeowners find when they switch on their heating after the summer months some are not working efficiently.

But rather than call for an engineer it might just be time to bleed your radiators.

Here are the steps to follow.

It's important to turn the heating off and allow the radiators time to cool.

This is to make sure that the hot water in the radiators doesn’t burn you when you start to bleed the radiators.

You will usually be able to find the bleed valve at the top and side of your radiator.

The bleed valve is the small metal square or screw found inside the surrounding nut.

Be sure to place a container or towel on the floor beneath the bleed valve so it protects your flooring from any discoloured water.

Use your radiator key to turn the valve at the top of the radiator.

Turn in an anticlockwise direction until you hear a hissing sound.

Make sure to not open the valve fully to avoid water escaping too quickly.

Once the hissing noise and air stop – and water starts to leak out – you will have bled all the trapped air from the radiator.

Turn the key clockwise to close the valve.

Be sure not to close the valve too tightly to avoid damaging the valve.

You may have noticed that the pressure gauge on your boiler has dropped since bleeding your radiators.

If so, you will need to top the boiler pressure back up before turning the heating back on.

Once your boiler pressure is back to normal, you can switch your heating back on.

This way you will be able to check to see if there are any cold spots.

If you find that there are still some, try bleeding the radiator again.

A radiator valve cap is used to control the flow of water to your radiator.

The changing of the flow can control the temperature of the room.

It can also turn the radiator off if its in a room you don’t use.

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