a 100 year old steam heating system

alf02155

My daughter recently bought a 100 year old home. It is heated by a gas fired steam boiler in good shape, about 7 years old. The steam pipes and radiators are I think the original ones put in. They dont bang or anything, but should I try to clean them out by using some type of additive into the boiler like TSP? And will the TSP even get into the piping vs just clean the boiler?  

Jamie Hall

No need...

to try and clean the steam pipes -- the steam going through them does an astonishingly good job of that all by its lonesome (steam cleaning!).  On the other hand, there is -- or should be -- a "low water cutoff" on the front of the boiler -- if you send us a photo of the front of the boiler we can point it out to you -- which has a drain on it.  That drain should be opened once in a while -- some folks say once a week, some once a month, some when the mood strikes -- to drain off the gunk which gets in there.  Typically takes about a gallon or so before it runs sort of clear.



And in the summer sometime, it is probably a good idea to drain some water from the boiler drain itself, assuming it has one... which should be part of the yearly maintenance and cleaning of the boiler.



And if it doesn't bang or hiss or otherwise make a nuisance of itself -- other than the above, leave it alone!  Although you might want to buy the book "We Got Steam Heat" which will help you and your daughter learn more about the system -- it's available from the "shop" tab above.