First fall in a prewar one-bedroom in Dyker and the morning heat is waking me up before my alarm. Around 5:00 the bedroom radiator starts hissing like a tea kettle, then does a steady click-click-click that sounds like someone tapping the pipe with a wrench. I don't want to make the landlord angry by messing with it, but I saw a little valve on the side. Should I bleed it? Is that a thing with radiators? The super just said 'it's automatic' and walked away. Also, first few times it smelled like burning dust—please tell me that's normal.

Welcome to steam heat season. A few questions: do you have a one-pipe steam system or hot water? If the little valve is on the side and hisses, it's probably an air vent, not a bleed screw. On one-pipe steam, you normally don't bleed it. The hiss is air being pushed out; once steam hits the vent, it should close. The clicking is usually metal expanding, or the pipe sliding slightly where it passes through the floor or joists.

Don't crank the side valve unless you know exactly what it is. You can, however, check the big supply valve on the floor pipe—it should be fully open or fully closed, not halfway. A half-open steam valve can trap condensate and cause banging later.

The burning dust smell is normal for the first heat cycles of the season. You can wipe down the radiator surfaces when cool, but don't put fabric directly on it. If the hissing is loud, ask the super to replace the air vent with a new or adjustable one. If you see water spitting or puddling around the vent, call the super right away.

Lived in a prewar steam building for years. Don't go turning the side valve unless you want to learn about rusty water. The click-click is the pipes moving; it used to drive me crazy. I put one of those felt furniture pads under the pipe where it was touching the wood floor, just enough to stop the metal-on-wood sound. Not a real fix but it helped.

If your super is actually responsive, ask him to check the pitch on the radiator and swap the vent. White noise machine also does more than fighting with the building. Earplugs on bad nights.

Popping in because mine does the same in the bedroom and I keep waking up at 5:10. astoria_arch, if I feel the little side valve, it's not hot but the top is warm? Does that mean it's not closing right? Also, for white noise and earplugs, the late-night Q train thread had a whole list of stuff people use for sleeping through announcements: Late-night Q train is a rolling nap pod—how do you not miss your stop? — but I think my partner would still hear the click. Has anyone tried a fan plus a rug under the radiator? Is that a fire risk?

YES! I have strong feelings about steam radiator vents! The little side valve is exactly the part most people ignore. If it's hissing like crazy and not closing, it may be painted or clogged. Have you tried replacing it with an adjustable vent? Some buildings have original painted vents that never fully close, so the room overheats and you wake up from the noise.

BUT—and this is key—if it's one-pipe steam, the new vent must be sized for your radiator and installed with the radiator cool. You also want to make sure the radiator is pitched slightly toward the supply pipe so condensate can drain back. The click-click could be the riser pipe expanding against the floor. Sometimes the solution is literally to open up the escutcheon plate hole a bit so the pipe has room.

I'd also ask the super to check the main vent near the boiler, because if the whole system is unbalanced, your bedroom vent is doing too much work.