A water heater works almost every day of the year. People always need hot water for cooking, bathing, and cleaning, no matter the weather outside. But this system does have to work harder during lower temperatures, mostly because the water entering it is colder and requires more energy to heat up.
As you start planning for the fall and winter ahead, give some consideration to your water heater. It may need to have repairs done. Or it may need to be replaced altogether with a new unit. Proper planning is essential for ensuring your water heater makes it through another year with few problems and high energy-efficient performance.
We recommend an annual water heater inspection
The water heater does more heating work than a home’s furnace—and it stands to reason it should receive at least the same level of care and maintenance as a furnace. If you haven’t already scheduled an inspection and tune-up for your household water heater this year, right now is the ideal time to have it done.
When professionals inspect a water heater, they look carefully for signs of malfunctions, aging, and potential safety hazards. They carefully look over the tank and the connection points to see if there are any leaks. They check on the pressure and temperature of the water and inspect the pump and the other mechanical parts. One of the most important steps is inspecting the anode rod. This rod is what helps prevent the inside of a water heater tank from rusting. If the rod is rusted through, it’s time to have a new rod put in.
If the water heater is gas-powered (like the majority in Staten Island), the technicians will inspect the gas lines and gas pressure and test for possible combustion leaks—all important safety steps.
Maintenance also includes general cleaning and tune-up. Sometimes the technicians will decide to flush the tank to remove built-up sediment. They’ll clean off the burners if they’re dirty.
Catching those repair needs
During an inspection, the technicians may find a potential trouble spot that hasn’t started to cause problems—but will in the future. They’ll alert the homeowner to the problem and offer options to fix it. In some cases, the work can be done on the spot as part of maintenance. For more extensive issues, they’ll schedule water heater repair in Staten Island, NY to make sure the system is in top shape for the coming season.
A few of the pending problems technicians can find are spots of corrosion, spikes in water pressure, leaking, kettling, or a range of issues with the gas lines and burners.
An inspection can also detect when a water heater is ready to be replaced. Many water heaters can last for twenty years, but systems older than this are probably better off being replaced. If you own an older water heater, ask your technicians during maintenance if this is the fall when you put in a new system. You can always count on honest answers from our professionals.
Bob Mims Heating & Air Conditioning has served Staten Island’s Heating and A/C needs since 1955. Schedule water heater service today.
