Water Heater Maintenance Improves Performance

Your water heater works hard on a daily basis to provide a continuous supply of hot water. To maintain continuous function, it’s necessary to schedule a regular water heater tune-up.

Water heater problems
Over time and with regular use, water heaters inevitably show signs of wear and tear and aging. When this happens, you may notice leakage, a lack of hot water, foul-smelling or discolored water, the presence of rust, or low water capacity. In these cases, you not only need a water heater tune-up, but your system may likely require a costly repair or even replacement. Enlisting professional help can generally enable you to bypass these problems.

Water heater tune-up
A water heater tune-up generally consists mainly of draining the fluid from the water heater and removing any sediment that has built up inside of it. During the tune-up, your technician should inspect the unit, checking that the heating elements function properly, running a check of the safety-relief valves, testing water temperature and pressure, checking for rust or leaks and conducting a visual inspection to make sure the system is in good condition and works properly and safely.

The benefits of a tune-up
Most manufacturers recommend that homeowners schedule a tune-up every six months to a year. Doing so helps you reap the benefits of regular maintenance, which include prolonging the life of your water heater, avoiding problems from occurring due to wear and tear, extending system life and ensuring peak efficiency.

If you fail to schedule regular tune-ups however, sediment and minerals will build up at the bottom of the tank, causing problems like higher energy consumption and also possibly leading to the contamination of your hot-water supply. With a regular tune-up however, you can improve your water heater’s energy efficiency and ensure a healthy supply of hot water for your family.

You can find more expert advice about water heater tune-ups and other home-maintenance topics by contacting T.F. O’Brien Cooling & Heating. Serving Long Island and the surrounding areas, we’re happy to help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Image via Shutterstock.com