Simple 30-second task could save you £350 on heating bills

As the cold weather hits the UK many households continue to grapple with rising energy bills. According to Money Helper, the average family spends around £153 a month on their gas and electricity.

While there are ways to try to minimise this cost by looking for cheaper providers and using less energy overall, there are also ways to make your homes more energy efficient. One expert revealed a simple 30-second trick that could save you up to £350 a year.

Fred Harrington, CEO of coupon site Bountii, urged people to bleed their radiators for this very reason. He explained: “Bleeding radiators at home is an essential task for making your heating system operate as efficiently as possible. By performing this quick, easy task, you will enable air to escape, improving heat circulation and potentially saving you nearly £350 on your energy bills thanks to improved heat efficiency in your home.”

Fred shared a step-by-step process for bleeding radiators safely. “To safely and accurately bleed your radiators, you must first ensure your heating is turned off,” he said. “Equipped with a radiator key, old towel, cloth, and container, you must identify the valve (located at the bottom of the radiator, generally at the left or right, but sometimes in the middle).

“Turn the valve anti-clockwise slowly with the radiator key until you hear a hissing noise, indicating the trapped air is being released. Once the sound is gone and water starts pouring out, collect the water in the container and use your radiator key once more to tighten the valve, turning clockwise this time. All you need to do is clean up any mess and repeat the process for any other radiators in your home.”

British Gas recommends bleeding your radiators “regularly” for best results and especially after long periods when they’re not used. “Bleeding your radiators is key for keeping your boiler running efficiently, which in turn keeps your home warm and your energy bills as low as possible,” they say.

“We recommend bleeding your radiators on a regular basis – every few months should do the trick. It’s always good to bleed your radiators after long periods without use too, like at the end of summer.”

There’s a simple way to know if your radiators are overdue being bled:

Turn on your heating and wait for it to warm up

Feel each radiator – if it’s hot at the top and cold at the bottom, it doesn’t need bleeding

If it’s hot at the bottom and cold at the top, turn off the heating and read on to find out how to bleed it.

If you don’t have a radiator key, don’t worry. Not all radiators do, and more modern designs can be bled using a flat-head screwdriver, while others can even be bled using an Allen key.

“As long as you make sure you’ve turned your heating off and allowed your radiators to cool down, you can use various tools to bleed your radiators,” British Gas adds.