Water Heater Maintenance: Why you should flush your water heater regularly
Making it a habit to flush your water heater regularly is crucial to ensure its longevity and keep the water warm, fresh, and clean.
By developing a routine for flushing your water heater at least once a year, you can reap numerous benefits and enhance the performance of your appliance. Let’s review the importance of flushing your hot water heater!
More efficiency
If the path of your water heater is unobstructed, it will operate more efficiently. Minerals such as calcium and iron can accumulate in the tank, obstructing the flow of hot water and causing it to become harder.
This can lead to a surge in your energy bills. Flushing your hot water heater on a regular basis can help you get hot water whenever you require it.
Fewer bills
Neglecting to maintain your water heater can cause it to work twice as hard. However, you can keep your monthly bill stable by flushing your water heater regularly, regardless of whether it has a tank or not.
Furthermore, by flushing your water heater, you can reduce the number of repairs you need to pay for. Neglecting to flush your water heater can cause minor issues to snowball into more significant problems.
Longer life span
Regularly flushing your water heater can extend its lifespan. By removing sediment buildup in the tank, you can prevent the heater's components from burning out quickly. If left unattended for an extended period, the buildup can cause your tank to crack and eventually break. Neglecting proper maintenance can result in having to replace your water heater prematurely.
Warranty protection
Warranties are provided by manufacturers to safeguard customers in case of unexpected problems. However, most warranties do not cover scale failure, a problem that results from not flushing your heater regularly. To avoid incurring expensive repair costs, you will need to provide evidence of the problem.
Peace and quiet
A water heater may produce unusual sounds such as popping, crackling, or banging noises due to buildup inside the tank. Although the noises may eventually cease, it is not a positive sign as it indicates that the scale buildup has hardened within the heater. Therefore, it is advisable to flush and descale your heater as soon as the sounds become too loud to avoid potential damage to the system.
At Lynn’s HVAC Winnipeg: Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Sewer & Drain offers both repairs and replacement services for most makes and models of water heaters. Be sure to call for services as soon as you notice a problem, but before you get to that point, it’s good to keep in mind that regular maintenance can reduce the need for repairs. Be sure to flush the tank once a year to remove sediment. This will improve the efficiency and lengthen the lifespan of your unit.
At Lynn’s HVAC Winnipeg, we can provide water heater repair in Winnipeg, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through our emergency service. No matter the make or model of your water heater, our technicians can handle it.
How often should I flush my water heater?
The frequency of flushing your water heater may differ based on the individual. Nonetheless, a general recommendation is to flush it approximately every six months.
If you have hard water with lots of mineral buildup, you should do so more often. Look for these signs of hard water:
- Feeling a film on your hands after using the sink
- Spots on glasses and silverware after washing
- Odd scent
These are just a few of the indicators to be on the lookout for in your water. It is important to be watchful for other signs as well.
Water hardness varies from one location to another. In urban areas, mineral accumulation tends to be more common, so keep an eye on your water quality and flush your water heater regularly to prevent any problems.
To learn more about water heaters, follow Lynn's HVAC Winnipeg: Plumbing Heating & Cooling on social media and check out their blog at https://lynnswinnipeg.ca/blog/, where we talk about What are the different types of water heaters and Why you should flush your water heater regularly.
