Water Heater Maintenance: Essential Tasks Include…

The major appliances and HVAC equipment in your home require preventive maintenance, and that is no less true of your water heater. Regular maintenance keeps your water heater working to supply your household with hot water for its important daily tasks. Here are some essential water heater maintenance tasks that your HVAC technician should perform during a tuneup and inspection.

• Test thermostat: The technician will test the thermostat to make sure it’s working correctly and that the heater is responding properly to temperature settings. A thermostat setting of 120 degrees should keep water hot enough for most household use.

• Check heating elements: If the unit’s heating elements fail, no hot water will be produced. The technician will check the heating elements to make sure they’re creating enough heat to properly warm up your hot water supply. The tech should also make sure all connections are tight and, if necessary, should replace malfunctioning heating elements.

• Inspect fuel connections: As part of water heater maintenance, gas lines, connections and fittings should be inspected to make sure there are no leaks, damage or loose connections.

• Check and test pressure valves: The unit’s T&P (temperature and pressure) valve is designed to safely relieve high pressure or temperatures inside the tank. The valve keeps malfunctioning water heaters from exploding and causing damage or injury. Your technician should check and test the valve, then open it to remove built-up sediments or deposits.

• Flush storage tank: Sediments and deposits can also accumulate in the storage tank, so the tank should be flushed at least annually. The technician should drain all the water from the tank to remove sediments, then turn on the water supply to flush the tank thoroughly.

• Add insulation to the tank: Storage tanks in water heaters can be a source of energy loss as water within them cools before being used. Ask your technician to insulate the tank with an insulating sheath or jacket.

Contact us today for more information about water heater maintenance or to schedule a preventive maintenance appointment that fits your schedule.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Wilmington, Delaware and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

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