Black goo in old rads
- Thread starter charlie30
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it is black magnetite caused by corrosion of your steel radiators
It makes an indelible black stain on any absorbent surface such as carpet or concrete.
the cheapest and most effective way for you to get rid of it is to take the radiators off, turn then upside down so they don't drip, and carry them into the garden and squirt them through with a garden hose. If you are fitting new rads, just tiop the old ones into a bucket. It is not toxic, just iron oxide. However any old rads you do not replace will still have it so it needs cleaning out. I suggest you replace any old rad valves and fit TRVs while you are at it.
Bale out the mud from your Feed & Expansion tank and sponge it clean to avoid washing extra sediment into the system, before you do any more draining or refilling.
There will still be some left in the boiler, pump and pipes, and you can loosen this by adding a sediment cleaner such as Sentinel X400, which will cost you £15, when you refill. Then you run the system for 4 weeks and drain the stuff which has been loosened and washed round with the water.
When you have cleaned it, use acorrosion inhibityor such as Sentinel X100 to prevent future corrosion. You may need to top this up after a few years or oif you drain or get aaleak. It will cost you £15 as a DIY job.
If you can do basic plumbing, and can afford £100 for a Magnaclean as well as the above, I guarantee you will be amazed and delighted to see how much black sediment it traps
If the sediment is not remove, it can settle into blockages and harden, which can be damaging and is much harder and more costly to deal with. It also reduces efficiency and wears working parts.
It makes an indelible black stain on any absorbent surface such as carpet or concrete.
the cheapest and most effective way for you to get rid of it is to take the radiators off, turn then upside down so they don't drip, and carry them into the garden and squirt them through with a garden hose. If you are fitting new rads, just tiop the old ones into a bucket. It is not toxic, just iron oxide. However any old rads you do not replace will still have it so it needs cleaning out. I suggest you replace any old rad valves and fit TRVs while you are at it.
Bale out the mud from your Feed & Expansion tank and sponge it clean to avoid washing extra sediment into the system, before you do any more draining or refilling.
There will still be some left in the boiler, pump and pipes, and you can loosen this by adding a sediment cleaner such as Sentinel X400, which will cost you £15, when you refill. Then you run the system for 4 weeks and drain the stuff which has been loosened and washed round with the water.
When you have cleaned it, use acorrosion inhibityor such as Sentinel X100 to prevent future corrosion. You may need to top this up after a few years or oif you drain or get aaleak. It will cost you £15 as a DIY job.
If you can do basic plumbing, and can afford £100 for a Magnaclean as well as the above, I guarantee you will be amazed and delighted to see how much black sediment it traps
If the sediment is not remove, it can settle into blockages and harden, which can be damaging and is much harder and more costly to deal with. It also reduces efficiency and wears working parts.
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Thanks for the detailed reply, we have now removed the rads and getting all walls done up (mixture of replastering and dob/dab plasterboard), before putting new rads on.
However one radiator is remaining and that is the one in the bathroom (a towel rail type) so will add the chemicals for the benefit of that, plus the existing pipe work and boiler.
What beats me however, is that a powerflush was done only 2 years ago. I oversaw this and saw lots of black coloured water come out of that until it was a lot less black.
I guess the powerflush did not get rid of the black goo stuff?
However one radiator is remaining and that is the one in the bathroom (a towel rail type) so will add the chemicals for the benefit of that, plus the existing pipe work and boiler.
What beats me however, is that a powerflush was done only 2 years ago. I oversaw this and saw lots of black coloured water come out of that until it was a lot less black.
I guess the powerflush did not get rid of the black goo stuff?
you can never get it all out, even if the powerflush is very thorough. And some are not very thorough. But if done properly it can be very good.
A Magnaclean is IMO great as it slowly picks up whatever is still flowing round, and X400 will loosen it. You may find it a pleasure to empty out the accumulated sludge from time to time, that the Magnaclean has trapped.
A Magnaclean is IMO great as it slowly picks up whatever is still flowing round, and X400 will loosen it. You may find it a pleasure to empty out the accumulated sludge from time to time, that the Magnaclean has trapped.
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Thanks again.
One last one.. and it might sound silly, but are all radiators made of steel? Just looking for a way to prevent it outright, as I have not yet purchased any. I wouldn't mind going for a radiator that will prevent this!
One last one.. and it might sound silly, but are all radiators made of steel? Just looking for a way to prevent it outright, as I have not yet purchased any. I wouldn't mind going for a radiator that will prevent this!
make sure you have a good inhibitor in the system
you can get ally and stainless rads
View media item 16565
you can get ally and stainless rads
View media item 16565
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