Greetings from Joe Shows How! In this week’s video, I’ll show a quick and easy way to clean hot-water baseboard heaters. This popular heating system is unique in that the heating element is not hidden behind a wall or under the floor. Instead, it runs along the floor at the base of the wall and is protected by a removeable metal panel. As a result, the heating element is easily accessible for maintenance and cleaning. And here’s why it’s important to clean baseboard heaters at least once a year.
The heating element consists of a copper pipe that runs through a series of very thin, closely spaced aluminum fins. As hot water is pumped through the pipe, it heats the fins, which radiate warm air into the room. As the warm air rises it pulls cooler room air under the heating element where it’s heated and then—through convection—flows up and into the room.
It’s a simple and efficient way to heat a home, but there’s one maintenance concern: As air circulates through the heating element it carries with it airborne dust, dander and pet fur that can eventually clog the air spaces between the aluminum fins and prevent warm air from radiating into the room. Therefore, in order to keep your hot-water baseboard heating system operating at peak efficiency, you must clean the heating element. Fortunately, cleaning baseboard heaters is a quick and easy job, as shown here. Simply snap off the front panel and use a vacuum cleaner to remove all the dust and debris from under and over the heating element, including the spaces between the aluminum fins. Just be careful not to crush or bend any of the fins. If you do accidentally mess up any fins, check out my Bonus Tip at the end of the video for a simple way to straighten them out.