Most central heating systems have some type of internal corrosion, caused by a reaction between the water and any cast iron elements in the system. If this corrosion is bad enough, it can create ‘magnetite sludge’, a deposit of minerals. This sludge causes the heating to work less efficiently and can even damage the more sensitive components in the system such as valves and pumps. While the build-up of sludge is almost inevitable if a system is built without an adequate sludge inhibitor, any existing build-up can be removed by “power flushing” the system.
Power flushing is a process which involves loading the system with a chemical agent to bond to the sludge and then purging and rinsing the system clean. This process takes quite a while, around eight to nine hours for an average system. Every radiator is individually flushed to ensure that every trace of particulate is removed.
Once the system has been cleaned, an inhibitor will be added to it. This will work to prevent more sludge from occurring in the future.
