air lock in hot water pipes, no water In upstairs taps? is there a pigletjohn in the house?.....

[meglet]

I've always had air lock problems with the bathroom sink and bath hot taps, although it seems worse this winter .

A plumber once told me I have to clear it by holding my hands over the kitchen tap, turn the hot tap on and keep my hand there for as long as I can manage. How does this clear the air lock?

I sometimesometimes leave the hot kitchen tap running for ages and the air bubbles 'splutter' out of it. The upstairs taps then run a little better, although I'm then almost out of hot water for baths.

any tips? googling tells me it's not something a plumber usually deals with. have I got to keep on blocking the kitchen tap for weeks until it's cleared itself? Thank you!

I presume you have a cold water tank. Is it in t5e loft, or on top of the hot water cylinder? Look inside it. Is there any drowned wildlife? How near is the water level to the overflow pipe which is near the top? How big is the tank?

Press the float down. Does water gush forcefully out of the valve, or dribble?

Can you see a stopcock or valve on the pipe that goes to the ballcock? Turn it to and fro. Is it nearly closed? It should be a quarter-turn back from fully open (this prevents it seizing in the fully open position)

thank you ..

then cold water tank is in the loft. I've not had a peek in there in years, I'll go and investigate in the week.

update; no dead wildlife in the tanks. but there's 2 tanks up there. A big one, that I hear refilling after the toilet it flushed and fills up to the overflow. It did have a big piece of duct tape and plastic bag which seemed to be blocking the exit pipe a bit? I've hooked that out.

There's also a smaller tank, that doesn't seem to be filling up to anywhere near the overflow, looks half full . I've pressed the ball cock down to top it up a bit. I'll see if that makes any difference during the day.

"It did have a big piece of duct tape and plastic bag which seemed to be blocking the exit pipe a bit? "

That will be the problem.

Does it have a close-fitting plastic lid? If not, measure it carefully, twice, and take the measurements round the DIY sheds. They won't have much of a range, so if no luck, take the brand name and other details moulded or painted on the tank, and phone few plumbers merchants.

A slightly too big lid will do. You can cut a slot in it with a serrated knife.

The small tank tops up your boiler and radiators. It should also have a lid on it. It probably has a lot of mud at the bottom. Next time you do a chemical clean, tie up the float, bale it out and sponge it clean.

Oooo! The small one did have muddy bits in it.

Are you sure you aren't spying in my house .

I'll sort the lids out, they just need to be more snug fitting right?

tight enough to keep out dirt, fluff, spiders, mice, birds