Signs Your Water Heater Needs Maintenance

A large majority of homes depend on their water heater for the proper functioning of their household. Doing basic tasks such as: washing dishes, showering, staying warm within the house, can be extremely difficult during the absence of a water heater, especially for homeowners that go through extensive periods of snow. With that said, it pays to be aware of some warning sings that may signal the need for some maintenance. This is an overview of 3 of the most common ones.

1. Leaking pipes are one of the most common signs that your heater needs some maintenance. No matter what kind of metal was used to create the pipes within the heater, overtime it will begin to corrode from the inside out. Plastic pipes on the other hand, usually leaks whenever there’s a slight change in the connection’s size over time or the gradual loss of glue holding the pipes together, due to normal wear and tear.

2. Another common sign that your water heater will need maintenance is a noticeable decrease in temperature. If you notice that the water heater, simply isn’t circulating enough heat anymore, you may want to check with your household members to ensure that they aren’t changing the settings on the thermostat. If that isn’t the case, it may be due to the wearing down of the heating elements within the heater, which happens from time to time as the heater ages.

3. One of the more unsettling signs that your heater isn’t functioning efficiently, is the appearance of rusty or cloudy water flowing from the faucet. If you notice that whenever you attempt to get hot water throughout your pipes, the water’s color significantly changes, it may be due to the fact that there may be some built up sediment at the very bottom of the water heater’s tank. This usually occurs with heaters that have been operating for years and shouldn’t happen with new heaters as that may signal a factory defect, rather than a need for maintenance.

Frequent maintenance of your heater is necessary in order to ensure that you have hot, clean water running throughout the house at all times. While many people attempt to evaluate their heaters themselves, what starts off as a small easily, fixable problem can lead to an expensive avoidable headache.