The water heater system is an essential part of any home. It provides you hot water in the toilet, bathroom, or the kitchen for various purposes in ten or more years. However, due to a lack of proper maintenance, the lifespan of this equipment becomes short.
Over the years, parts of the water heater system will eventually deteriorate. It’ll cause damage, not just in the entire heater system. It’ll also cause damage to your home.
Slightly leaked water heater pipes drip water that will cause your floor to rot and decay. It’ll also make your carpet accumulate molds, and to your walls getting stained.
These series of problems will consequently cause you a lot of money for repairs in the future. Before reaching that point, you need to know a few inconspicuous factors that may lead to future big problems. Read on below the necessary need-to-know factors that can damage your water heater system at home.
Hard Water Minerals
The hot water system produces hard water that you use every day at home. Hard water contains calcium, magnesium, or iron salt that often produce little foam formation when you rub a bar of soap with your hands in the water. Eventually, these minerals from the hard water will settle at the bottom of the tank.
These minerals will form sediments that will prevent the water from increasing the temperature in the burner’s heat source. Hence, the burner will keep producing heat longer than usual, causing it to overheat. If the sediment is heated repeatedly, it’ll become hard. If this will continuously happen, it’ll surely damage your water heater tank in time.
The extra time used to heat the water from the burner will also consequently create leakage. The leakage could be on the water heater nipples located above the water heater due to its proximity to the tank. However, if you can’t find any leakage yet and feel that your tank has a little problem, you can use a water sensor to notify you if the heater nipples start to leak.
To avoid this from happening, you need to drain the tank at least once or twice a year. Turn off the gas or electric power of your water heater system. Stop the water flow by turning off the valve. If the water cools down, drain it into a separate container or towards the outside of your house. Then, wash the tank’s interior and flush all of the accumulated sediments out.
Steel Water Heater Tank
Steel is the common material of the water heater tank that has a major component of iron. As the steel submerges in the water and reacts with oxygen, rust will eventually form in time. However, the tank has an anode rod inside in three to five feet long that will accumulate rust instead of the tank’s interior.
If rust consumes the entire anode rod, that’s the time that interiors will start to accumulate rust corroding the tank system consequently. Check the anode once a year, and consider changing it if need be.
An easy way to determine if the tank becomes too rusty, fill in three to five gallons of water from the water heater system. If rusty water comes out until the fifth container, it’s most likely the tank has accumulated rusty surface inside. You need to either buy hot water system or seek assistance from an experienced plumber to fix your existing water heater system.
High Water Temperature
The advisable water temperature must be set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Any higher than the recommended temperature will be too much to bear on your skin. Aside from the possibility of getting scalded, too high temperature will also increase the pressure inside the tank. Too much pressure will result in leakage, and worse, it’ll explode. That’s so dangerous.
However, the pressure is controllable with the help of a relief valve. The system will slightly open the valve to release some amount of water, keeping the pressure down and getting the desirable temperature. You’ll start having a problem with the tank’s pressure if the valve opens more often than usual.
If you’ll notice even a slight leakage in the valve, that means pressure continues to build up in the tank. To avoid getting a critical problem with your water heater tank, test the valve at least twice or thrice a year. Regular testing will ensure that the valve relieves enough heat and pressure to make your water heater system stay in good condition.
Takeaway
Many factors are affecting the performance of your water heater system at home. The things discussed above are just a few contributors to serious system damage that many might overlook. Before experiencing any inconvenience and getting into trouble, do a regular system testing to some parts of the heater tank, such as the water pipes, the anode rod, and the relief valve. The regular testing will somehow let you know if you need to take some actions to avoid system damage and boost the performance of your water heater system.
