Interested in water heater maintenance? ICE Heating & Cooling answers your most common questions and tells you what to watch out for between maintenance visits.
What Regular Maintenance Should Be Done On A Water Heater?
You should have a six-month water heater maintenance schedule, and here’s an overview of what our team will do during each visit.
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Check the temperature is correct.
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Make sure the valves are doing their job.
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Drain your tank and remove the sediment.
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Flush the whole tank.
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Check the anode rod for rust and wear.
Gas and electric water heater maintenance is quite a similar job. When you get scheduled for a routine water heater maintenance, we’ll also check the pilot light and that there’s no risk of gas leaks.
What To Check For Between Water Heater Maintenance Visits
Keep an eye on the following so you can nip any emerging issues in the bud.
There’s Not Enough Hot Water
Sounds like a classic case of limescale build-up. However, there could also be a problem with the heating element.
Inconsistent Heating When All You Want Is A Hot Shower
It might be your valves or a thermostat issue.
Dampness
Eek, sounds like a leak. It could be a slow one where you can’t see the source.
Water Is Discolored
Ugly water can be rust or mineral deposits. Keeping up on a regular six-month maintenance schedule will help avoid this issue moving forward.
Weird Noises
We’ll have a look at the valves and also check for sediment.
Water Smells Funny
Yikes, we’ll be right over to sanitize your water heater from the inside. It could be a buildup of bacteria, so you definitely don’t want to be showering in that.
Should You Drain Your Water Heater Yearly?
Water heater maintenance is a different animal to that in other parts of the country. The water is so hard here, water heaters are constantly fighting against limescale. A water heater with an anode rod coated in limescale isn’t efficient and suffers more breakdowns than a nice fresh, descaled one.
You should have one of our pros in to drain and descale your water heater every six months as part of your regular gas or electric water heater services schedule.
Is A Tiny Water Heater Leak A Major Problem?
The leak right now may be minor, so some people don’t get too worried about it at first. It might be coming from the tank or a pipe, the connections, or a gasket.
However, this is the time to call in the maintenance team. It’s a huge waste of money heating water and having it leak out again, and leaks are a problem that only gets worse over time.
How Do You Run A Water Heater Efficiently?
There are a lot of ways you can save money on bills while helping the environment. The best way is to have regular maintenance which will keep everything running well. Take the anode rod for example. It won’t live as long as the rest of the water heater so we’ll replace it every couple of years when it’s necessary.
#1. Turn the thermostat down to 120°F. Any higher and it’s likely you’re just pouring money down the drain because it’s too hot to shower in.
#2. Have us drain your tank every six months. As we mentioned above, a limescale-free water heater works way better.
#3. Ask us about extra insulation. The winter gets pretty chilly at night so well-placed insulation can make all the difference.
How Often Does A Well-Maintained Water Heater Need To Be Replaced?
You’re looking at about ten years on average. With good maintenance, we can catch tiny issues before they set in and damage your system.
Electric water heaters can live up to about fifteen years, and tankless water heaters are also good for longevity. Gas water heaters however are at the lower end and sometimes only live about eight years.
Learn more and schedule your own water heating installation services from our website.
Call ICE Heating & Cooling For Great Water Heater Maintenance
Keep your water heater running well all year round when you get a regular maintenance plan with ICE. When you treat your water heater well, it will live longer too.
Call our friendly team today at (702) 820-2184 or send us a quick message.
