Do you powerflush your radiators? ;)

No, I don't mean toilets. I mean radiator sludge.

I'm the new owner of some old huge cast-iron radiators (and the house that goes with it). I imagine that these radiators haven't been cleaned in some time. I'm thinking that before I put in a new mod/cons boiler that a cleaning may be appropriate.

The brits seem to have the concept of the "powerflush" with powerflushing machines:

http://britishgas.home-maintenance.info/heating/radiator-sludge/

(FWIW, my system looks exactly as pictured, though I'll have to wait for my "mr. cheapies" infrared thermometer to arrive to get an accurate idea of temperature distribution.) I'm having a lot of trouble finding information on the web about this idea in the United States. Googling powerflush or similar terms gets me a lot of info on british heating, american cars, and water efficient toilets. I can't imagine that it is *that* rare a concept in the Northeast, with all the old steam-to-forced-hot-water conversions like mine.

So do you guys and gals powerflush, and if so, what do you call it?

I've cleaned out copper and aluminum radiators using white vinegar.

The most complex I got was when I used a drill pump and a pail on one unit.

There is the risk of causing it to leak since you will be removing some of the metal in the process.