This Is the Best Way to Clean Your Radiator.
If you haven’t turned on the heat for the first time this year, you may need to do so soon. Before you do this, you should give your radiators a good cleaning, and the easiest way to do this involves little more than a hair dryer.
Your dust-clogged radiator will have to work harder to keep your house warm (increasing your utility bills) and will push all those pollutants out as it blows that fried air around. However, the problem with cleaning the radiator is that if done incorrectly, you can inadvertently drive dust deeper inside, making these problems worse – and making the radiator even more difficult to clean – down the road.
So, here’s an easy way to clean your radiator – ideally before turning on the heater for the winter.
Vacuum cleaner and hair dryer – all you need
Before doing anything else, use a vacuum cleaner to pick up any visible, easily accessible dust and dirt. You can also use a long rag, but be very careful not to get dust deeper into the radiator slots. Just worry about dealing with dust stuck to the outside of the radiator.
For the dust lurking inside the radiator, you’ll have to get creative. Instead of a device that sucks in air, try a device that blows. This tip comes from Express , which advises you to aim your hair dryer at the cracks and crevices of your radiator and blow out the dust with short jets of air. Do not blow directly into the inside of the machine; instead of; tilt the dryer from the bottom so that the dust pops out. Once it is secure outside of the heatsink, you can easily grab it with a rag or cloth.
Other Options
You can also use a long brush for this messy job. (There are special brushes made specifically for this purpose.) Don’t have a brush handy? Wrap something long and thin—a ruler, a shoe horn, a broom handle—with cloth, rubber bands, or duct tape and stick it in the cracks to kick up dust. For small crevices, use straws, rolled-up paper towels, chopsticks, or other small hard objects you have around the house.
While a blow dryer is probably the simpler option, anything that pulls out the dust and doesn’t push it deeper will work. Consider using a special brush , or wrap something long and thin—a ruler, a shoe horn, a broom handle—in cloth, rubber band, or tape and gently poke into those dusty crevices. Place a towel under the radiator to collect clumps and then vacuum up any leftovers. (Wear a dust mask if you have allergies or haven’t cleaned your radiator in a while.)
To finish work
Once you’ve removed as much of the interior dust as possible, use a damp soapy sponge to clean the outside of the radiator. Clean any shallow crevices using a damp toothbrush. Dry everything thoroughly with a paper towel and you’ll be ready to breathe a little easier as you look down into the coldest months of the year.