Maintenance is crucial to ensuring a steady hot water supply in your home and extending its lifetime. Mr. Rooter Plumbing has put together easy tips to assist with water heater maintenance and ensure it runs safely and efficiently.
Regular Inspection
One key aspect of water heater maintenance is inspecting it regularly for signs of corrosion or leaks in its tank or rust or leaks within it. If issues exist, calling in professional help from plumbing services might be beneficial. They can assess your situation and recommend necessary repairs or replacements as appropriate.
Flushing Your Tank
Over time, sediment and mineral deposits can build up at the bottom of your water heater tank impair its performance, and lead to potential damages. Flushing at least once each year should be an essential practice. Here's how it's best done:
- Turn off your heater: For electric models, switch the circuit breaker off while gas models should set their thermostat to "pilot".
- Connect a garden hose to its drain valve: Run its other end towards a drain or outside.
- Open the drain valve: Once the sediment has been eliminated from your tank, open and close the drain valve until clear water flows freely out, indicating removal from its storage capacity.
- Then, close and disconnect any drain hose.
- Refill tank: Turn back on the water supply before refilling the tank fully with fresh water before powering back on or resetting the thermostat for new settings.
If you require assistance for this task, it would be prudent to reach out for professional plumbing assistance.
Check the Anode Rod
An anode rod is an integral component of your water heater, helping prevent tank corrosion by drawing in corrosion-causing elements from the water and collecting them in its rod. With time, however, corrosion occurs on its own rod which must then be replaced.
- Turn off the water heater: As with flushing the tank, ensure the power or gas supply is off.
- Locate the anode rod: It’s usually at the top of the tank.
- Remove the rod: Use a wrench to unscrew it.
- Inspect the rod: If it’s heavily corroded or less than ½ inch thick, it’s time for a replacement.
Replacement of an anode rod may prove challenging. Therefore, seek assistance from a qualified plumber if at all possible.
Test Your Pressure Relief Valve
A pressure relief valve safeguards against tank explosions by providing vital relief should pressure exceed safe limits in an unsafe way. Therefore, this feature of tank safety must be regularly examined to ensure it works as intended. Regular testing can ensure proper functioning.
- Lift the lever: This should release some water. However, if only a trickle comes out, then perhaps replacing your valve may be necessary.
- Release the lever: Release it again so it returns back into place and stops water flow completely—otherwise, your flow could become uncontrolled!
If the valve does not function as intended, get in touch with an emergency plumbing repair service immediately.
Insulate Your Heater and Pipes
Insulating your water heater and the first few feet of its hot water pipes is one way to increase efficiency, lower energy costs, and provide hot water more quickly. Pre-cut pipe insulation is available from most hardware stores, and blankets to cover water heaters can be purchased from plumbing services if you are unsure or concerned about the safety of covering thermostats or gas top heaters yourself.
Adjust Your Thermostat for Safety
Your water heater's thermostat controls its water temperature. To maximize safety and energy efficiency, set it to 120degF (49degC). This temperature provides sufficient warmth to stop bacteria growth without creating dangerous scalding temperatures that lead to burns or burnout. If you need assistance setting your thermostat correctly, hiring a plumber might also come in handy!
Check Heating Elements
Electric water heaters include heating elements that may become worn over time, leading to decreased hot water availability. Inspecting and replacing these elements involves shutting off power, draining out your tank, and taking steps such as switching them on/off/removing/adding them back. Due to this complexity, it may be best left to professional plumbers to handle.
Be Aware of Strange Noises
When your water heater begins making strange sounds such as popping or banging noises, such as popping or banging noises, it could indicate sediment build-up in its tank and other potential problems. Flushing might sometimes fix these noises. But if they continue to occur it would be wiser to contact a plumber as quickly as possible for diagnosis and fix of these problems as quickly as possible.
Know When to Call Professional Help
While water heater maintenance may be managed on your own, sometimes professional help is required for optimal functioning of a system. If any maintenance tasks seem cumbersome or significant issues emerge that you need assistance with, do not hesitate to seek the advice of professional plumbers. Their experience ensures your heater continues functioning in an effective and safe way.
Mr. Rooter Plumbing
Maintaining your water heater on an ongoing basis is critical to its operation and longevity. By performing regular inspections, flushing out your tank, checking its anode rod, testing the pressure relief valve, insulating the heater with an insulation blanket, setting the thermostat, inspecting heating elements, and being on alert for unusual noises, you can prevent many common issues and extend its lifespan significantly. Don't hesitate to seek professional plumbing help when in doubt. Calling Mr. Rooter Plumbing will save time, money, and headaches later down the line!
