It is not uncommon for you to experience some plumbing problems in your home. Among the plumbing issues you may have to deal with are airlocks in your hot water systems. An airlock will occur when air gets trapped in the pipework of your water supply, making it harder for water to flow through it as required.
It is fairly easy to tell that you have an airlock. If you only see bubbles or hear hissing sounds when you turn on your hot water taps, then you are dealing with an airlock, which is usually an inconvenience. Luckily, you can do a few things to fix the problem. Read on to find out.
Kitchen Taps Method
This is usually an easy way to fix the airlock problem in your hot water system. First, find out if your kitchen has a mixer tap or if the cold and hot taps are separate. For the latter, you will need a short piece of garden hose to connect both taps. You can attach the hose to the taps using duct tape or hose clips. Once done, turn both taps on starting with the hot tap. Generally, kitchen taps are connected to the mains directly. In addition, the cold water taps tend to have a greater mains pressure than their hot water counterparts. Therefore, this extra pressure will force the air lock out of your hot water system.
If there's a mixer tap, block it then slowly turn the cold water tap on. You can use your hand to block the tap. Doing this will also result in the higher-pressure cold water being forced to flow through your hot water system, driving out the airlock.
Washing Machine Method
If you're using an automatic washing machine that is connected to both your cold and hot water supplies, you can also use it to fix your airlock issue. Washing machines will also work like kitchen taps because in most cases, they are connected to the mains too.
Start by disconnecting both the cold and hot hoses. Remember to turn off the corresponding valves first before you disconnect the hoses. Once done, connect the cold hose to the hot water valve and turn on both the cold and hot water valves. The cold water mains pressure will also help drive the trapped air out of the hot water system.
Allow the taps to run for a few minutes before turning the hot taps on to confirm you fixed the problem. If not, repeat the process a couple of times until it does, and if doesn't, then it's time to call your plumber.
