Imagine a situation where you are in your home taking a relaxing warm bath in winter, and suddenly, the water turns ice cold and fails to heat up. However, you have a water heater at home, yet it does not work. It is a possible sign that your water heater needs maintenance, which is important now. All you need is to call in the Alberta General Plumbing And Heating services professional to get your water heater up and running!
Your water heater would need daily upkeep to start operating smoothly and offer hot water right out of the nozzle. Additionally, several manufacturers would need to flush and inspect at least once annually to maintain the system’s warranty.
But getting your water heater inspected annually will do more than just ensure that your next shower is extremely comfortable. It will last longer when you perform regular water heater maintenance and prevent them from causing damage to your home.
So, why should you wait to make the issues turn worse? Get in touch with one of the professional technicians who can start inspecting your water heater. In our post today, we will check out the reasons to get regular water heater maintenance done, warning signs to look out for, and why you should maintain your water heater.
Why Get Regular Water Heater Maintenance?
Water heaters are considered the highly forgotten and neglected piece of equipment left in the corner of your home, and you might even forget about it until you don’t have any hot water left. If such a thing happens, it is an urgent sign that you should immediately check or inspect your water heater.
One of the primary reasons your water heater needs maintenance is the buildup of rock and sediments from hard water. Sadly, rock in your water heater causes you to drain thousands of dollars worth of damage to your tank, home, and plumbing. Hard water is quite common around Alberta regions of Edmonton.
With time, rock and sediment lead to corrosion of your water heater and clog the pressure release valve, which can make your water heater explode.
One of the few damaging sides is the lack of maintenance will eventually reduce the efficiency of your water heater. The constant buildup of sediment will also reduce the capacity of the tank for hot water.
Regular water heater services are more likely to start increasing your system’s lifespan, which lasts almost a decade or more. Additionally, your tank becomes highly efficient, saving you money for the long term.
Warning Signs For Water Heater Repair
Regular maintenance of the water heater should prevent your water heater from turning bad. But, it is always a great idea to look for red flags indicating that your appliance needs servicing.
Let us now check out a few of the issues you should look out for:
Lukewarm Water
Is your shower taking a long time to heat up only to produce lukewarm water? If so, your water heater has a lot of sediment buildup and requires servicing.
Water heaters operate by warming up the water bottoms in the tank. But, when hard water leaves behind sediment, it builds up over the heat source. As an outcome, the heat is having a tough time reaching the water, producing lukewarm results.
The excessive sediment will also consume additional tank space, leaving no room for water. Therefore, you will have less warm water since the tank will not have sufficient capacity.
Higher Energy Bills
The other sign you should be looking for is the amount of money you are paying for your energy bill. Sadly, the buildup of the sediment causes the burner to work overtime to help you get hot water.
Therefore, if you see a rise in your energy bills each month, then you should get your water heater checked by the Alberta general plumbing and heating services because your unit might face some issues.
Sediment Outpouring from Your Faucets
When excessive sediment buildup in your water heater, it might start finding its way into your faucets, plumbing, and showerheads. The buildup of these particles leads to the clogging of your plumbing system and damages your pipes.
It would even cause dry, itchy skin and dry, brittle hair if you shower in this water. Luckily, the quality of the water softener can help prevent these issues by removing excessive rock from the water.
Loss of Water Pressure at High Temperatures
Surplus sediment buildup in your water heater would cause a lack of water production. As an outcome, you will face low water pressure only when you turn the water temperature up.
Sadly, this is a common issue in cities like Alberta, which has a lot of hard water.
Leaking Water From Your Tank
You should never take the leaks lightly, irrespective of the age of the water heater. The smaller, slower leaks would result in catastrophic structural damage to your home with time. However, if it is left unattended, the smaller leaks become the major ones unleashing thousands of gallons of water in just a matter of hours after the sudden structural failure.
The Importance of Professional Water Heater Maintenance
You can easily use your water heater regularly. It comes into play each time you wash your dishes or shower. Many issues pop up with the water heater when you are not offering the right type of maintenance for the water heater. You can easily prevent the issues and ensure you have better access to hot water whenever required.
It Extends the Lifetime of Your Unit
Water heaters are designed for lasting several years down the lane. But, when you are not offering them proper or regular maintenance, they will start deteriorating quickly. For instance, harmful materials start building up whenever you do not flush your water heater annually.
It would cause your water heater to work harder, ultimately resulting in wearing down instantly. You can ensure that your water heater lasts longer and has fewer issues buildups over time.
Prevention of Issues
The problems with your water heater are extremely disruptive to your routine due to the extreme reliance on your water heater. Maintenance has often used the prevention of the issues from occurring initially.
Additionally, regular maintenance would help ensure that the potential issues are hardly found during the early stages, which are much easier to resolve.
Buildup of Calcium
Regular flushing out of your water heater is the key component in removing potentially hazardous particles from the tank. For instance, areas have hard water that rapidly accumulates calcium in the water heater.
These accumulations would lead to blockages that will prevent your water heater from functioning adequately as required. Whenever you make sure that your water heater gets flushed out annually, you will start safeguarding your water heater thoroughly, preventing these blockages.
Monitor Water Temperature
Regular maintenance of your water heater will make sure that your water heater continues to function as required. Monitoring the temperature of the water is a vital part of the maintenance process. When there is an issue with the water temperature, it indicates that there is an issue with the unit itself.
Restoring the temperature of the water will travel a long way towards making sure that the water heater is in top working condition and can meet the household’s regular needs.
Detect Rust
Rust is often the major issue involving the need for water heater replacement. It impacts the quality of water in the building, leading to additional issues. Regular preventative maintenance would ensure that you can locate the rust whenever it happens. You should even take additional steps to prevent rust from building up inside the water heater.
Greater Efficiency
Regular maintenance would help ensure that your water heater is operating efficiently. It reduces the energy required for getting hot water in your home, and the higher efficiency will help you reduce the total amount of work the water heater needs to do.
When reducing this effort, you start decreasing the amount of wear on your water heater. It would extend the lifetime of your water heater while reducing the likelihood of substantial issues that arise.
Saves Money
Whenever you are reducing the energy your water heater requires, you are reducing the entire amount of money you need to invest to heat water. It would travel a long way towards reducing the energy bill. Additionally, regular water heater maintenance would help prevent the water heater from breaking down and prevent the likelihood of expensive repairs.
It would lower the risk of water damage arising from the leaking water heater tank. Water damage becomes astonishingly costlier to repair, and it is just one of the multiple ways in which the regular maintenance of a water heater would save a considerable amount of money.
Full Use of Tank
Regular maintenance of the water heater would ensure that you are using the tank of the water heater. You can start extending the amount of hot water available with the tank’s complete use.
Your water heater may need maintenance to ensure it gets used at its full capacity if you are running out of hot water regularly in the shower.
Inspection of the Anode Rod
The anode rod of the water heater gets used to attract rust and prevent it from forming on the other elements of the water heater. It is essential to keep in mind that the anode rod is in proper working condition and can safeguard your unit due to its vital function. Regular maintenance will ensure that your anode rod continues functioning as required.
Test Pressure-Relief Valve
The pressure-relief valve is yet another highly vital component of your water heater. The value would prevent pressure from building up inside the water heater. Make sure that the pressure-relief valve functions how it is intended to assist in safeguarding your home and preventing any substantial issues from happening. The working pressure-relief valve is essential for properly regulating the pressure building up within the water heater.
How Often Is water heater servicing required?
The professionals would recommend you get your heater serviced once annually. The best time to get the water heater serviced is during the summer, when the heater has been inactive for a longer period, and it is more likely to have developed issues during its dormancy. If you get your water heater serviced this time, it will spare you from the wrath of going out of hot water and sufficient indoor heating during the winter months.
But this does not mean that you should never get your heater serviced at other times of the year. Suppose you notice any type of corrosion on the body of the heater, gas and water leaks, and the unusual color in the heated water. In that case, getting in touch with professionals is important.
Ensure to engage only with certified technicians for water heater installation, service, repairs, maintenance, and replacement jobs.
Conclusion
The tough winter conditions are extremely punishing, which is why it is important to have a properly functioning hot water heater that is imperative enough to keep your home warm. Maintaining the unit with the help of professionals from Alberta general plumbing and heating services is also important. The pointers we discussed above surely assist you in a better understanding of the importance of carrying out regular maintenance work on your water heater.
At Pipes Plumbing Ltd, we offer the best services to keep the plumbing systems and fixtures working in the best condition. Maintenance of a water heater is vital to safeguard the water heater’s condition and prevent several potential issues. You can lower your expenses and ensure that your water heater is functioning appropriately with the right type of maintenance. To start learning more regarding the importance of water heater maintenance and related services, reach out to us today!