Hot Tips For Maintaining Your Water Heater

It labors night and day, providing you with gallons of warm water for those long, luxurious baths and soothing showers. Because your hard-working water heater has such an important role to play, you definitely want to keep it in tip-top shape. Fortunately, there’s a simple, reliable way to accomplish this. It’s called routine maintenance. This involves a few basic steps that are as simple as they are reliable.

• Approximately every six months you’ll want to open the drain valve, which is conveniently located on the bottom of the heater. Allow the escaping water to drain into a bucket or other container until the liquid is clear. Typically, this is about 5 gallons worth. This simple but important procedure prevents harmful sediment from gathering inside of your heater.

• Once a year, test your heater’s temperature-pressure relief buildup level. To do this, lift or depress the proper handle to drain water from the overflow pipe. If no water comes out, your valve has seen better days and needs replacing. In that case, shut off the water flow to the heater and open a hot water faucet anywhere in your home. Then install the replacement.

• If you ever notice steam or boiling water flowing out of the valve or hot water faucets, you’re looking at a telltale sign that your heater is overheating. Another symptom is a heater that happens to be producing an unusual rumbling sound. In either instance, you’ll want to switch off the heater and call in a water heater repair professional for an evaluation.

Don’t Let Frozen Pipes Stop You Cold

You turn the handle, but strangely, no water flows out of the faucet. Not even a trickle. This, of course, could indicate any number of plumbing issues. But if temperatures outdoors are dipping toward the lower end of the spectrum, chances are you have frozen pipes. Remember, when temperatures plunge, frozen pipes and subsequent bursting are major risks. On the positive side, there are ways to keep these important channels of water flow from freezing up. In fact, even if you don’t catch pipes before they go into deep freeze, you still can thaw them before they burst. But speed is of the essence. Here’s what to do:

Pre-Freeze:

• Make sure at least a trickle of water is always running from your faucets. Liquid in motion is much more resistant to freezing. Think of a creek vs. a pond in frigid conditions. Which one will turn to ice first? Right.

• Keep exposed pipes warm with a heat lamp or portable heating device.

• Get those un-insulated pipes insulated. You can do this by wrapping the unprotected pipes with newspapers, heating wires, foam, or self-adhesive insulating tape.

Post-Freeze Thawing:

• Locate the main shutoff valve, switch off the water, and open the faucet closest to the frozen pipe, allowing the liquid to drain while thawing.

• Working from the faucet to the iced area, gradually warm the frozen pipe with one of the following : propane torch equipped with flame-spreading-nozzle; hair dryer used as a makeshift torch; heating pad wrapped around a section of pipe; heat lamp for pipes located behind walls, floors, or ceilings (hold a minimum of 8 inches from pipe surface); boiling water poured on frozen section of pipes, which have been wrapped in rags. (use as last resort).

As a precaution, it’s a good idea to cover any nearby flammable surfaces with a fireproof material. And always make certain you prevent the pipes you’re working on from getting too hot.