Hello World! Welcome Friends! Your water heater is one of the most hardworking equipment you have at home. It’s responsible for giving your household safe hot water to drink and warm water to bathe in. However, it requires proper care and maintenance to work efficiently and last longer.
With proper care and effort to keep the water heater clean, you can avoid costly repairs and unexpected replacements that will cause a huge inconvenience to you and your family. Fortunately, taking good care of your water heater is pretty straightforward. It begins with the following tips:
1. Flush The Water Heater Tank
It’s important to flush your water heater tank at least once a year. You can start by draining the tank but for a better clean and maintenance, this often won’t be enough.
Go back to your manufacturer’s instructions on how to properly drain your water heater. By doing so, you’re sure that what you’re doing is what the manufacturer recommends, and not just something that you think is the right way to do things. Following the manufacturer’s instructions will also prevent costly mistakes.
2. Adjust The Thermostat
If you don’t really need to have high water temperatures, then adjust the thermostat of your water heater and keep it at its optimum temperature of 120 degrees F.
Doing this keeps your water heating system at its best working order, as it’s not working too hard all the time. Plus, you’re also saving money. Typically, energy costs can lower down with every 10 degrees that you lower the temperature. Maintaining optimum temperatures also makes it safe for household members since the thermostat level reduces the likelihood of scalding.
3. Test The Valve
A water heater’s pressure-relief valve is found on its top side. This valve automatically opens once its system detects that the pressure on the tank is too high. If left on its own, then all that excess pressure may cause the tank to explode. You’ll want to avoid this situation, else your entire water heating system—including the plumbing—may get affected.
A remedy for this is to regularly test the pressure relief valve. It’s as simple as placing a bucket right below the discharge pipe and then slowly lifting the lever. If the valve doesn’t release the water, then this should be a telling sign that it’s time to replace the valve.
In this case, turn off the water, drain the tank, then unscrew both the old valve and the discharge pipe to release it. Before screwing in the new valve, wrap it with sealant tape to improve its durability.
If all else fails, you can’t go wrong with calling an expert plumber to perform this task for you. Trained plumbers will help you find permanent solutions for such complicate problems. Else, if you keep trying, then you may only make a mistake that’ll worsen the condition of your water heater system and plumbing. These are expensive systems to install, so you shouldn’t take any chances.
4. Check The Anode Rod
One of the parts of a water heater that has a high risk of corrosion is the anode rod. Check first if it’s badly corroded or not, as this is very important to prevent the inside of the tank from rusting out. When you check your tank annually, make it a point to check the anode rod as well.
If it’s corroded, then have it replaced right away. It’s often cheaper to replace a corroded rod than to replace the entire water heater simply because you left it to rust. A corroded anode rod will corrode the tank’s interior which also shortens its life span.
5. Drain The Tank
When you perform annual flushing, it’s important that you drain the tank to a level that’s at least one-fourth the capacity of the entire tank. With this, you’re sure that any debris that’s left on the tank is also drained.
The process is simple:
- Turn off the supply of cold water.
- Connect a hose to the drain valve.
- Place the flowing water in a pail, until it turns clear.
Conclusion
As you can see, taking good care of your water heater doesn’t have to be such a difficult task. It’s as simple as doing the tips above to ensure that your water heater’s lifespan extends, and you’ll always have hot water flowing in your household.
In many instances, it’s more than just a matter of comfort. During the cold months, however, having hot water is a necessity. Hence, it’s important to properly care for, maintain and make use of Carmel water heater service to ensure that it can work efficiently all year round.
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