Is power flushing really a good idea?
A power flush is the very best way to clean out your heating system, getting rid of deposits of sludge and blockages that inevitably build up and reduce the efficiency of your system. However, some people worry about just how necessary they are, or even if they can cause damage.
First up, despite the name, a power flush isn’t about high pressure – so it doesn’t add any excess force to your system. It simply increases the flow rate of water, which helps to dislodge anything that shouldn’t be lurking in your pipes and reducing the efficiency of your heating.
Depending on the system, your boiler engineer may deem it necessary to add a flushing chemical before the power flush. This is especially common with microbore systems, which can often have issues with thick sludge building up in sharp bends in the small pipes.
If a leak occurs during a power flush, it’s most likely that it’s exposed an underlying weakness in your heating system – perhaps a rusted section of pipe or radiator that would have failed sooner or later anyway. A power flush will just expose weaknesses, not cause them, and you’ll have someone on hand who can fix it then and there.
Another thing that most people don’t realise is that in most cases, you can still use the boiler, even during the power flush, so you can do it any time of year, summer or winter, whether you’re relying on your boiler in the cold months or just getting it checked out while the warm weather’s with us. Either way, you're fully qualified boiler engineer will advise on whether you need a power flush in the first place and identify any potential issues before they occur.