Home Owner's Water Heater Tank Maintenance

Home Owner's Water Heater Tank Maintenance

As a Home Inspector with many years of experience I offer a few of the reasons why it is incredibly important to perform water heater maintenance for the water heater of your home.

Water Heater Maintenance

You use your water heater on a daily basis. It comes into play every time you wash dishes or take a shower. When you don’t provide the appropriate maintenance for your water heater, many issues can arise with your water heater. With the right maintenance, you can prevent issues and ensure that you have access to hot water when you need it.

Extends Lifetime

Water heaters are designed to last for many, many years. However, when you don’t provide them with regular maintenance, they are sure to deteriorate much more quickly. For example, harmful materials can build up when you don’t flush your water heater on an annual basis. This can cause the water heater to work much harder, which will ultimately result in it wearing down more quickly. With the right maintenance, you can ensure that your water heater lasts longer and has fewer issues over time.

Potential Issues

Due to your extreme reliance on your water heater, problems with your water heater can be extremely disruptive to your regular routine. Maintenance is often used to prevent issues from ever occurring in the first place. In addition, regular maintenance can help to ensure that potential issues are found in the early stages, when they will be much easier to resolve.

Calcium Buildup

Regularly flushing out your water heater is an important component in removing potentially harmful particles from the tank. For example, areas that have hard water will rapidly accumulate calcium in the water heater. This accumulation can lead to blockages that will prevent your water heater from functioning as intended. When you ensure that your water heater is flushed out on an annual basis, you will be able to more thoroughly protect your water heater and prevent these blockages from occurring.

Monitor Water Temperature

Regular maintenance helps to ensure that your water heater is continuing to function as intended. Monitoring the temperature of the water is an important part of its maintenance. When there is an issue with the water temperature, it is an indication that there is an issue with the water heater. Restoring the water temperature will go a long way toward ensuring that the water heater is in great condition and capable of meeting your regular demands.

Detect Rust

Rust often results in the necessity of replacing your water heater. It can impact the quality of the water in your building and often leads to many additional problems. With regular preventative maintenance, you can ensure that you find rust when it occurs. You can also take additional steps in order to prevent rust from accumulating inside of your water heater.

Efficiency

Regular maintenance helps to ensure that your water heater operates more efficiently. This reduces the total amount of energy that is required to obtain hot water in your home. With increased efficiency, you reduce the total amount of work that the water heater has to do. When you decrease this effort, you decrease the total amount of wear on your water heater. This extends the lifetime of your water heater and reduces the likelihood of substantial issues arising.