Cole Harris
Regardless of what kind of water heater service in Melbourne you have – electric, gas, solar, heat pump, or othrer you’ll want to avoid hefty repairs or an expensive replacement anytime soon. The only way to keep your water heating unit working the way it should for its entire lifespan is if you maintain it properly and regularly. You can employ the services of a water heater installer in Fitzroy and Melbourne, who do repairs, maintenance and instalments. However, there are ways that you can maintain your home’s water heater yourself.
Maintenance Tips For Your Gas And Electric Water Heater
Most home’s hot water heaters are powered by gas or electricity. Here are three steps to maintaining a conventional water heater.
- Check The Pressure
Water heaters carry a lot of pressure, which can make it quite dangerous if you leave it unchecked. The pressure relief valve is there to keep you safe, because it relieves the pressure inside the tank and therefore, keeps it from exploding. On one side of the heater, you’ll find a switch and a discharge pipe. When the pressure builds up, the valve opens, and water comes out of the discharge pipe – therefore, relieving the pressure.
When you test the pressure of your water tank, all you need to do is lift the lever to see if any water is discharged. If it is, then the valve is working perfectly. If the valve doesn’t open when you lift the lever, or if it leaks after you’ve tested it, then you need to replace it.
- Inspect the Anode Rod
Electric and gas storage water heaters contain an anode rod (or sacrificial anode). It attracts all corrosive materials in the water so that the anode rod corrodes and not the tank or another vital element of the heater. If you have orange water coming out of your taps, your anode rod might be corroded and will need to be replaced.
When you need a new anode rod, you should find rust in the water. Simply turn the gas or electricity source for the heater off, run hot water out of the tap and open the pressure valve. If there’s rust coming out of the pressure valve, then you need to install a new tank.
If you turn off the power or gas, close the shutoff tap, run hot water, release the pressure valve, and drain some water out of the tank – and see rust flakes, then, unfortunately, you need to get a new heater.
- Flush The Tank
Every year, you should flush your water tank to prevent any mineral sediment building up inside. These deposits can rust through the tank, so ensure that you flush the tank out every year.
To flush the tank, you need to turn off the power and gas supply and isolate the cold water inlet. Run some water out of a hot tap, and then open the pressure release valve. The next step is to drain the water tank until it’s empty of water and sediment. If much sediment leaves the tank, you’ll have to empty the entire thing to get rid of it all. If you don’t, the sediment will settle and start rusting the tank.
Maintenance Tips For Tankless/Instantaneous Water Heaters
One of the more popular water heating solutions is the tankless water heater because it heats water on demand. However, you must still look after it regularly. Many tankless water heaters will alert you when you need to maintain them, however, you should still perform this task once a year instead of waiting for the alert.
Maintaining your water heating unit might not be as fun as you’d like. However, it’s necessary. To make sure that you get as many years out of your unit as possible, you should follow these simple steps. You can ask any water heater service and installation professional, from Fitzroy or Melbourne, to help you. If you look after your investment, it will be something you can rely on for many years to come. Call Butler Plumbing for advice on all things gas, electric or tankless water heater related today.
