5 Water Heater Maintenance Tips for Glen Carbon Area Homeowners

Your water heater is an appliance that you use every day of the year. Whether it’s for showering, washing your hands, laundry, washing dishes or more, you need your water heater to be working properly in order to perform all kinds of daily tasks. We here at Tiger Services want to help you keep your water heater running smoothly throughout the year, which is why we provided the five water heater maintenance tips below!

5 water heater maintenance tips

1. Schedule annual tune-up. The best thing you can do for your water heater is schedule an annual tune-up with Tiger Services. During a tune-up, we’ll fully inspect your unit and take care of any problems that might be affecting its efficiency, safety and performance. Some of the tasks we perform during a tune-up include flushing your tank, looking for signs of leaks and corrosion, checking your anode rod and more!
2. Use an efficient water heater temperature. Many water heater manufacturers set their products’ thermostats at 140 degrees. This temperature level can lead to scalding and reduces your unit’s efficiency. Since 120 degrees is an adequate water heater temperature in most homes, lowering your temperature to that will cut down on your unit’s energy consumption while still providing your home with the hot water it needs.
3. Check for signs of leaks. Every few months, check the area around your water heater for any signs of leaking. A leak can be a big waste of water and energy, and it often points to bigger problems with your unit. If you discover water pooling up around your tank, contact Tiger so that we can determine the cause.
4. Partially drain your tank every three months. Over time, sediment builds up at the bottom of your water heater’s tank and reduces its efficiency. This is especially true for homes with hard water. In order to avoid this problem, drain about a quart of water from the bottom of your tank every 3 months. As we mentioned above, a full system flush is also part of a water heater tune-up!
5. Test your TP relief valve. A temperature-pressure relief valve is a safety mechanism that’s located on the top of your water heater. It prevents your water heater from exploding if the pressure inside your tank were to get too high. In order to ensure it’s working properly, lift the lever once a year and make sure some water is let out. Be careful, because the water being released from your tank will be hot! This is another task that we will also perform during your water heater tune-up.

If you have any questions about these water heater maintenance tips, or if you’d like a plumbing system serviced or installed in your home, contact Tiger Services, your Glen Carbon plumbing, heating and air conditioning company.

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