5 Water Heater Maintenance Tips

Have you noticed that your hot water heater just doesn’t seem to be working as effectively as it once did?

Are you growing frustrated with cold showers, and wondering how you can extend the life of your hot water heater and lower your bills in the process?

If so, then it sounds like you need to conduct a little water heater maintenance in your home.

In spite of what you might think, this isn’t nearly as complicated as it sounds.

Keep on reading this post to learn more about how to maintain a water heater.

1. Get An Annual Inspection

One of the most important water heater maintenance tips?

Hiring a professional at least once every year to come in and conduct a thorough inspection of your heater.

Of course, if you notice things like brown, dirty water or if you hear a strange clicking or buzzing noise coming from the heater, it will be pretty obvious to you that there’s a problem.

However, are you truly able to diagnose the less visible signs of potential damage when it comes to your hot water heater?

Likely, the answer is no.

Plus, there’s absolutely no reason to put your personal safety at risk and fiddle around with parts that you don’t really understand. Doing this can increase your risk of burns, lead to potential explosions, or just damage your heater more than it already has been.

In order to protect your investment, opt for professional and preventative electric water heater maintenance every year.

2. Keep The Surrounding Area Clean

Not all water heater maintenance needs to be complicated.

Sometimes, all you need to do in order to keep things functioning properly is ensure that you’ve removed any clothing, boxes, or just dirt and other junk around your heater.

First of all, doing this will help to prevent your water heater from catching on fire. However, it will also improve the overall efficiency of your heater.

Remember that your heater needs to burn gas effectively — but if oxygen can’t reach the heater, it’ll have to work twice as hard to accomplish half as much. Not only will you be more than a little chilly, you’ll also likely have the displeasure of watching your bills skyrocket.

Plus, keeping the area clear means that you’ll be able to spot water leaks around the heater faster than ever. Finally, keeping the area free from debris and other things helps to prevent carbon monoxide from leaking into your home.

3. Set The Right Temperature

If you want to learn how to maintain a water heater, then you also need to make sure you know the right temperature to set yours to.

In general, the majority of hot water heaters will come with a default setting of somewhere around 130 degrees.

However, if you want to save a little more on your bills — and extend the overall life of your hot water heater?

We suggest that you lower that temperature to somewhere between 115 and 120 degrees. Also, look for a vacation mode option — or simply turn your heater off — if you’re heading out of town for a while.

4. Check Out Your Temperature And Pressure Valve

One of our favorite water heater maintenance tips?

Make sure that you always take the time to thoroughly inspect your hot water heater’s temperature and pressure (AKA, T&P) valve. Doing this will help you to ensure that the water can’t overheat easily, therefore damaging the coils and other sensitive parts of your heater.

It also helps to prevent your unit from exploding or burning anyone who comes into contact with it.

Checking out your temperature and pressure valve is likely easier than you might think. All you really need to do is lift up the valve and quickly release it. If you hear the sound of water draining, everything is in good working order.

If you hear nothing, however, then you’ll need to get in touch with a water heater maintenance professional.

5. Flush Out Your Water Heater

No matter where you live or the overall quality of your water, over time, your water heater tank will start to collect a buildup of sediment and minerals.

While this likely won’t pose much of a threat to your health or water quality, it can cause some pretty serious damage to the more sensitive parts of your hot water heater.

To prevent this from happening, try to flush out your hot water system a few times every year.

Before you start, always make sure that the power is turned off completely if you use an electric water heater. The, get a bucket and put it underneath your valves. Open the drain, but be cautious of the hot water.

Then, just let anywhere from one to three gallons of hot water flow out.

Need Professional Water Heater Maintenance?

We hope that this post has helped you to be able to take some of the guesswork out of water heater maintenance.

Remember that by flushing out your heater, adjusting the temperature, and making regular inspections a part of your overall routine, you can extend the life of your hot water heater.

You can also lower your bills in the process.

Of course, regardless of your DIY skill level, there are some hot water heater problems you shouldn’t attempt to fix on your own. For your safety, you need professional help.

That’s where we come in.

Spend some time on our website to learn more about the HVAC and other services we offer. Then, get in touch with us to schedule a service appointment as soon as you can.