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5 unhelpful myths about powerflushing

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15-05-2020

Powerflushing – a service that our Harrow, Bromley and Epsom plumbers here at PGS Plumbers routinely provide – has attracted a lot of comment in recent years as a way of clearing sludge and blockages from a central heating system. Not all of that comment, however, has been very accurate.

So, what are some of the potentially concerning things that people may have said to you about this in-demand service, that you actually don’t need to worry about?

1. It’s not necessary – you can just install a magnetic filter
It’s a good idea to arrange the installation of a permanent filter, but this isn’t equivalent to having a powerflush done.

Filters like this can only remove debris from water that actually passes through them; they don’t deal with the debris elsewhere in a central heating system that could break loose at a later date. Tackling that will require a powerflush.

2. It’ll cause leaks in your heating system
This is highly unlikely to occur, given that most powerflushing systems are designed to have a much lower maximum pressure than has much probability of causing problems for your system.

In the event that there are localised deep corrosion pits in your system that may present the risk of a leak, it’s much better that it happens while a heating engineer is present for the powerflush than at any other time, so that they can look into and resolve the problem.

3. The powerflushing pump’s pressure will damage your boiler
Again, for similar reasons to the above, you don’t need to worry about this one. The maximum pressure of a typical powerflushing pump should never go much higher than two bar, while the internal workings of a boiler are required – for safety reasons – to withstand 4.5 bar, and need to be tested by the manufacturer to ensure this.

You can therefore stop fretting about any possibility of a powerflush over-pressurising and damaging the inside of your boiler.

4. A powerflush is very messy
You’ll already know from the above that there’s a low risk of any leaks happening to cause any mess, as long as the sludge or rust in your system hasn’t caused so much damage that it has been left susceptible to leaking anyway.

In any case, powerflushes are carried out in an area of the home – such as a kitchen, bathroom or utility room – where it will be easy to clear up any mess that happens. In practice, powerflushing a healthy heating system should leave little or no mess at all.

5. It’s expensive to have a powerflush done
While it’s true that the costs of a powerflush can vary a lot depending on such factors as the size and condition of the heating system in question, it can also be an extremely worthwhile service in terms of the savings it gives you on your heating bills for years to come.

Why not find out just how affordable a powerflush could be at your own London property, in fact, by enquiring to our Acton, Hackney or Epsom plumbers online today, or giving us a call on 0203 370 0066?

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