I’m losing my mind waiting for the first blast! My prewar on West 238th has those giant silver radiators that sound like someone throwing wrenches at 5:45 a.m., and I genuinely love it! But last night the indoor temperature dropped to 58 and my super still hasn’t switched over from the “summer” setting. I always thought October 1 was sacred! Is there a block-by-block norm for when the first steam comes up? Do you leave the hissing valve half-shut, or is that how you get uneven heat? Have you tried the trick with the radiator cover off and a shallow tray of water next to the bed? I need details—what’s the first sound you hear when the steam actually arrives?

Wait, I didn’t know radiators have a summer setting—I just assumed they were always half-rusty and silent. Our place is my first NYC apartment and we have baseboard heat, so when people talk about steam coming up it sounds like a subway movie. Do you have to bleed the radiator or something? Ours does a little clicking noise but no heat yet. Thanks in advance—also is it bad to put a towel on top of a cold radiator?

@DykerNewbie, baseboard heat is a different system—usually hot water rather than steam in smaller postwar or renovated buildings. You don’t bleed a steam radiator the same way you would a hot-water baseboard when air gets trapped. If it’s cold and the super hasn’t started the boiler, make sure the valve is fully open (counterclockwise), then call management, not the super’s personal cell unless your building says otherwise.

For the original question: first steam varies by building. In my current co-op near Bailey Avenue, the boiler usually comes on the first week of October after two or three nights below 55, but that decision is made by the board, not the city. The old six-story I lived in near Riverdale Avenue had a super who waited until the basement cat started sleeping on the boiler housing—once that happened, heat was a day away.

The hissing valve: once steam is actually moving, you should not need to leave it fully open. A healthy steam valve lets air escape when cold and shuts when steam hits it. If you paint the valve or force it wide open, you get water hammer and more noise. A shallow metal tray with water on top of a radiator helps with dry air, but it won’t speed up the first heat of the season.

If you’re below 68 indoors during the day in early October and the outside temperature is low, document two morning readings and put in a written request. They often count on tenants not knowing the difference between an old building that takes hours to heat up and a super simply not flipping the boiler over.

One more thing: this has the same energy as the earlier train-wait cutoff discussion—What’s your cutoff for walking off a train that won’t leave the platform? (What’s your cutoff for walking off a train that won’t leave the platform?)—except here the cutoff is how many nights below 58 you tolerate before you start emailing the managing agent.

Thanks @oldyork_otis for breaking down the board vs city thing. This is my first fall in a prewar on Broadway and I’ve been using an upside-down cardboard box to block the cold draft under the kitchen door—no radiator there at all. Told my super this morning and he said “it’ll come up when it comes up,” which didn’t feel right. Should I send the email if my living room is reading 61, or is that just normal old-building behavior until the first real steam? Also @RiverdaleRambler I tried the water tray last night and my hands already feel less like sidewalk dust.