Lesson 15
Taking a Radiator Off: What It Involves
See why closing a radiator’s two valves doesn’t make every opening safe, and what a plumber does, in what order, to take one off or change a valve.
Do you need it off at all?
Kofi is papering his bedroom, and the radiator is in the way. Before anything is undone, there’s often an easier answer: a long-handled radiator roller or a slim radiator brush reaches the wall behind a panel with nothing opened at all. Taking a radiator off is for when that won’t do, such as hanging paper behind it, replacing it or changing a valve.
Taking one off opens the heating system. The water inside can be hot, it’s usually black, and on a sealed system it’s under pressure. The panel itself is heavier than it looks. The rest of this lesson is what that job involves, so you know what you’re asking a plumber to do and why.