Water Heater Maintenance Guide: Keep Water Flowing

Wherever you are in the United States, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve got a water heater in your home. Whether it’s a property you own or a rental space, they’re an integral part of keeping things running smoothly. Obviously, we need them to keep our showers and baths warm, but they also help heat up the water for our dishwashers and laundry washers, just to name a few things.

With all of that said it probably comes as no surprise that these are something that we need to keep up with in terms of maintenance. While it may not always get super cold here in Utah, there’s still no denying the appeal of a nice warm shower after a long day.

• Of course, one of the biggest pillars of maintaining a water heater is to have regular inspections performed – either by yourself or by a contractor who has expertise in the field. What should you be on the watch for, though? Most of the time, it will be things like leaks or similar signs of corrosion. If you notice any, repair or replace any damaged parts as soon as possible.
• Approximately once a year, you should have your water heater drained and flushed to ensure that debris doesn’t build up. If you aren’t sure how to do it on your own, you can always call in professionals for assistance or advice.
• Another way that we can increase the overall lifespan of our heaters is to invest in proper insulation for the pipes and the unit itself. This can reduce heat loss and improve energy efficiency. You can use insulation sleeves or blankets made for water heaters to achieve the best results in these cases.
• Periodically, it can be helpful to check on how high the temperature gets for the water in your heater. You’ll want to make sure that it’s at a proper level, as you can see in suggestions from Larsen Heating and Air Conditioning – that means about one hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit, or forty-nine degrees Celsius. Anything above or below that could cause problems.
• For some of us, we may not even think about water pressure on a regular basis. The place where it’s most relevant in the home is for our showers – if the pressure isn’t up to par, then the water flow from our shower head may not be adequate for properly washing our hair especially.
• One way to help with this is to regularly check the pressure relief valve on our water heater – once a year tends to be adequate unless you notice a problem in specific. How do we do this? Thankfully, it’s pretty simple.
• What you’ll want to do is lift the lever and check if water flows out and stops when released. If it doesn’t, the valve may need to be replaced. Talk to a professional if you aren’t sure.
• Depending on the type of heater you have, this step might change. You can find some insights on that in this article if you’re curious. Some will have a burner, while others will have a different heating element.
• No matter what type you have, it’s important to test this regularly to make sure that everything is running as it should. No one wants to end up stuck without hot water after all, and this can be a relatively easy fix if we manage to catch it early.
• This next piece of advice can be relevant for heating units and air conditioners, so it’s good to pay attention. You’ll want to check both the intake and exhaust vents since we want to make sure there’s proper airflow for the combustion process. Otherwise, the temperature may not be what we want, and there can be other problems along the way.
• If you do notice some sort of debris or dirt clogging up these vents, you can try to clean them on your own. Sometimes, it might end up necessary to bring in professionals to help so that you don’t accidentally injure yourself or cause further damage to the vents.

Regular inspections performed – either by yourself or by a contractor who has expertise in the field.

Check with a professional if you aren’t sure how to perform any of the steps above or need guidance completing them safely.