Quick and Effective Preventative Maintenance Tips for Your Water Heater

Having a water heater that is not supplying enough hot water to the household or is appears to be leaking, is not only annoying but can become expensive if you call out a professional to fix the problem. Here are some quick and easy preventative maintenance tips you can follow to keep things running smoothly and also help you save time and money.

A Cool Water Heater

Setting your water heater thermostat to 150 degrees or higher will end up costing you more to operate. To cool down the heater, you will need to lower the thermostat temperature to 130 degrees for a safer more economical operation.

Cover Up

A great tip for keeping the water's heat from dissipating from the heater is to wrap the heater with an insulation blanket. Keep in mind that on gas models, do not cover the top of the tank or block the airflow to the burner at the bottom of the heater. On electric models, you will want to cut the insulation away at the power connection and at the element access panels.

Corrosion

There are signs of corrosion to your water heater that you will want to pay attention for, such as a small puddle underneath the water heater; this may signal a corroding tank. It's important that before you take the steps to replace the heater, you will want to inspect all the valves and fittings. On inspection, if they appear to be leaking, just by tightening the valves and fittings, this may solve the problem.

When checking for corrosion, make sure that you do an annual inspection of the sacrificial anode, which is a magnesium or aluminum rod submerged in the tank of the water heater to help absorb the chemical action that causes tank corrosion. To check this properly, you first need to shut off the water and the power to the heater and then remove the rod by loosening and anode bolt that is located at the top of the heater. If it appears that the rod has corroded away, you will need to replace it.

Enough Hot Water

If there is a problem with your water heater not supplying enough hot water, you may want to consider adding a small point-of-use heater. These have five gallon tanks that can supply water directly to a dishwasher or to your shower, so you won't have the problem of running out of hot water in the middle of you shower ever again.

Pilot Light

An easy way to check to see if the pilot light is lit on your water heater without crouching down on the floor is to place a hand mirror on the floor under the heater to help you easily light or check the pilot light.

No Hot Water

If you experience only cold water when taking a shower or running the facet, on a gas heater the pilot light is probably out, just simply relight it. If it's with an electric heater, you will need to check both pairs of thermostat terminals with a multi-tester in accordance to the water heater manual. If after doing both of these to the water heater and you still only have cold water, the top heating element is probably the problem. If the hot water runs out too soon, this may be the lower element. What you will need to do is first shut off the power and then test the element with a volt-ohmmeter set to RX1. Then you will replace it if the meter reads infinity. Turn off the water supply and then drain the tank, also remove the element's cover. Now you will loosen the mounting screws, disconnect the wires, and then remove the element. To install the new one, just reverse the process.

Resources: 1001 Do-It-Yourself Hints & Tips