Busy day today so started fairly early for a Saturday. Took the dog out for a walk. Then I called in to do a home check that I didn’t have a phone number for, thankfully they were in. Then I had another home check right near home. After that it was off to Tesco’s to do the shopping.

Came back, had a light lunch, then off to Screwfix in Yate to pick up a load of heating chemicals. Then from there it was off to another home check the other side of the city. Annoyingly passing another Screwfix on the way. It was all cats today.

So came back and started to clean out the feed and expansion tank. In the end I bailed it out using a cup. Got rid of all the water then gave it a good scrub and disinfect. Then I attached a hose to the drain valve, shoved the dog in the garden and put the hose out the front door. Opened the cock and just let water flow through the system for a bit. After that I tied up the ballcock in the tank and drained down the system. I then refilled it with Sentinel X800, which is a sludge clearer. I turned the pump on high and fired up the system. I left it for about ten minutes with all the radiator valves open. Then in turn I opened one radiator at a time and beat the crap out of it with a rubber mallet wrapped in a towel. After I finished the upstairs I shut the system down and opened up the Magnaclean. That was absolutely full. So cleaned the filter out and did all the downstairs radiators the same way. Drained the system down again and then cleaned the filter once again, which was full. Finally then refilled the system with Sentinel X400 which is another sludge cleaner but this one you leave in the system for four weeks. So I’m leaving this one with all the valves open and the pump on full for the next month, hopefully that will get shot of the rest of the sludge and it will behave itself without gurgling at me.

Oh, just in time for a bath. May be some wine. People moan that draining down and refilling a central heating system takes ages…I’ve done it twice in an evening.