How To Unblock An Airlock In Water System May 2026

A perfect, solid column of water poured out.

A moment later, Leo pulled out the rag. They turned on the tap, and whoosh — perfect pressure. how to unblock an airlock in water system

“Now,” he said, “turn on the HOT tap first. Then, slowly, turn on the COLD tap.” A perfect, solid column of water poured out

“Simple physics,” Leo grinned. “Cold water pressure is usually 3 or 4 bar. Your gravity-fed hot water tank is only 0.5 bar. The cold water just bulldozes the air bubble back where it came from.” “Now,” he said, “turn on the HOT tap first

An airlock happens when a pocket of air gets trapped at a high point in a pipe, usually after you’ve drained the system to fix a leak or turn off the mains.

The bathroom tap upstairs? Worked perfectly. The garden hose? A gushing torrent. But the kitchen tap was as dry as a bone.

A perfect, solid column of water poured out.

A moment later, Leo pulled out the rag. They turned on the tap, and whoosh — perfect pressure.

“Now,” he said, “turn on the HOT tap first. Then, slowly, turn on the COLD tap.”

“Simple physics,” Leo grinned. “Cold water pressure is usually 3 or 4 bar. Your gravity-fed hot water tank is only 0.5 bar. The cold water just bulldozes the air bubble back where it came from.”

An airlock happens when a pocket of air gets trapped at a high point in a pipe, usually after you’ve drained the system to fix a leak or turn off the mains.

The bathroom tap upstairs? Worked perfectly. The garden hose? A gushing torrent. But the kitchen tap was as dry as a bone.