You’re sure that your radiator isn’t producing the heat it previously did. You feel its surface and find that it is hot at the bottom but lukewarm at the top.

Image Credit

The problem? You’ve almost certainly got an airlock. The air has risen to the top of the radiator, preventing the hot water from getting up there.

Diagnosing the airlock problem

One of the most common causes of an airlock is that you’ve had your system drained. You might think this would do nothing but good. After all, it’s sometimes recommended for keeping your system running efficiently. However, if the system is refilled in the wrong order and the top floor radiators aren’t shut off when the downstairs radiators are being filled, air can enter, resulting in no heat.

You may need to call a professional plumber. For boiler installation in Woking, try a reputable local firm such as www.rjplumbingandheating.co.uk.

What to check

First, you should check that the central heating pump is working properly. If it seems to be okay, turning up the pressure may help the airlock to move.

Next, you’ll want to test the radiators. While you are doing this, you need to make sure that at least one radiator is on. Turn the boiler on and check each radiator in turn to make sure that it heats up properly at the top and bottom. If you’re satisfied, leave the one you have just checked on and move on to the radiator that is next in sequence. Once the next radiator is turned on, the previous one can be turned off.

If you find that one radiator is guilty of making the whole system lose warmth, turn that one off. This will allow the other radiators in the system to get extra water pressure.

If each radiator is working fine when you test it on its own but you lose heat when they’re all on at the same time, the problem might be related to balancing. Unfortunately, this tends to be the result of poor installation of the heating system.

One of the remedies that is worth trying is to close the radiator valves to only half of their capacity. This may work until you can get a competent central heating engineer to take a look at the installation.

Caring for your lawn is vital for keeping your garden attractive. A neat edge to the lawn can go a long way towards enhancing its overall appearance, but there are different ways to achieve this. Choosing your ideal edging is really down to personal taste.

Image Credit

General lawn care

Lawns need feeding in Spring to stay in tip top condition. Apply fertilizer before rain or when the ground is damp. If necessary another feed can be applied later.

Spring is the time to deal with moss and weeds. If gaps are left or the grass is thin, you can over-seed in the spring or autumn.

Watering your lawn is not always necessary, and grass can recover even after a really dry spell. If you need to water, you can ensure the water penetrates to the roots by aerating hard ground beforehand.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society, mowing your lawn regularly keeps it in good health. Using hand propelled petrol lawn mowers can make the job easier, particularly if you have a large lawn.

Lawn edges

Some people prefer the natural look of plants overlapping from the border to the grass, but this makes mowing difficult.

A definite edge can be maintained in various ways. Possibly the most simple method is to cut a neat edge with a half moon tool. The disadvantages of this are that it will need to be repeated once or twice during the year to keep it looking neat and it will eventually reduce the size of your lawn.

Laying paving stones between the lawn and the border is a traditional way of edging, but is difficult to change if you decide you would like to move the border later on.

Gardeners World claims that edging your lawn with bricks can minimise labour, and these can be laid in a variety of patterns to add interest as well as a crisp edge.

Modern edging materials include metals and plastics that you insert into a slit at the edge of the lawn. For any lawn, regular mowing is essential and this can be achieved with hand propelled petrol lawn mowers by Chiff Chaff.

Whichever method of edging your lawn you choose, it is important to have something that shows where the lawn ends and the border begins.