Cleaning very old, dusty radiators

[verybighouseinthecountry]

I've just moved to a house where the radiators haven't been cleaned for probably decades. In between the two 'panels' is thick with dust and debris. The heating is on a lot now and I can smell the hot dust 🤢. Any tips on how to successfully clean this out properly! Any tools available?

Never used them, but a quick google of ,radiator brush, brings up lots of suggestions.

Maybe try a hairdryer to dislodge some of it? Then hoover!

I put a thick towel down and run hot soapy water through to get rid of the worst.

Then one of this long handled brushes to scrub the rest.

Radiators are so badly designed (by men who never have to clean them ?) and so hard to clean !

Ours were the same when we moved in. Took the top grill off a couple and got the worst out with the hoover. That was a faff to do though so bought a radiator brush from Amazon.

Radiator brush dry. Then tape a damp microfibre cloth to the brush and redo

Thanks all, will buy the radiator brush, didn't know they were a thing! It's a very old style and the gap between the two panels is very narrow, so couldn't get a towel to pass through it or hoover attachment near it.

The long thin bristly radiator brushes work well, but tend to fire the dust everywhere, we had tons of fluff and dust that must have been many years worth!

With some types you can lift the grille off the top but I've always found it hard to get them to stay fixed afterwards. I've tried the thin brushes but they don't get through the grille. I've tried blasting with a hairdryer at the top with my vacuum's tube sucking away at the bottom, but it's hard to get every scrap of greb out.

I agree they seem like something designed by men who've never had to clean them!

I use the hoover to get the worst of the dust and then a steam cleaner to jet the rest of it out. Manky job and dust gets everywhere but worth it in the end.

If they’re not too old use a hairdryer, war not hot air, to blow the dust out

Wouldn’t recommend that for modern ones, the old type, yes.

oh, i know that smell, it’s basically toasted dust best hack is the hairdryer trick. put a damp towel under the radiator and blast the back from the top, all the fluff falls on the towel.

Doesn’t work when you’ve got years of soot like sticky debris impacted down the separate grills. The radiators in the flat I moved into were so filthy that the ceiling above them were stained, it looked like there had been a fire. The only thing that worked was initially buying radiator brush off Amazon and then putting towel on the floor and using steamer and warm soapy water.

Those radiator brushes look good but how easy to clean are they?