The water heater is one of the essential appliances that most people install in their homes. Nowadays, these heaters come with several advanced technologies and functions like regulating the temperature with a knob, a digital screen to get the temperature reading, a set timer, etc.
With so many advanced functionalities and complicated appliance designs, maintaining a hot water tank can be a daunting task. This is why we have compiled a list of tips you can follow to maintain your hot water tank.
How Can You Maintain Your Hot Water Tank?
Check the less used functions of the tank frequently
Always inspect the less-used hot water tank functions to ensure that they are working correctly. For example, let's say you have a smart water heater that can be controlled through your phone. The app allows you to set a timer which you haven't done in the past few weeks. So, checking the timer function once a month or so will let you know whether it's working properly or has some glitches.
Always flush out the tank weekly
The tank present inside the heater is made of metal. Since the water is heated within the tank, the inner walls eventually suffer from corrosion and rusting. Moreover, if you are getting a supply of hard water from the municipality, heating it will cause the insoluble magnesium and calcium salts to form a crust on the tank's inner walls. That's why you need to flush out the tank weekly so that all these deposits and debris can be removed.
Do not allow the hot water to stay inside the tank
Let’s say you own a water tank that is filled with hot water to the brim and have used only 3/4th of the total water volume. This means that 1/4th of the hot water is still inside the tank. To protect and maintain the functioning of the water tank, you need to drain out 1/4th of the excess water, which might damage the tank material if allowed to stay inside.
It's better to insulate the tank
The water heater's tank usually has thin walls, which allows the transfer of heat energy between the water inside the tank and the outside environment. As a result, the water will cool down quickly, which means that the device will use more power than expected. With more energy consumed, your monthly bills are going to skyrocket. That’s why it’s better to insulate the tank. It will preserve the heat energy within the tank and help the wires last longer by reducing the power intake.
Always function-test the valves
A water heater comes with several valves that control the water flow into the appliance, within the tank, and then at the outlet. If any one of the valves malfunctions, the flow of the water will be disrupted, which can potentially lead to accidents. For this reason, it's crucial to check the functioning of the valves present in the heater.
Insulate the pipes connecting the heater to different outlets
From the water heater, several pipes will be connected to different water outlets. For example, usually in the bathroom, the water heater outlet is connected to the shower and sink. The plumbing connections are usually behind the walls to reduce energy loss. And yet, some amount of heat energy is lost during the flow of the hot water from the appliance to the outlet. To prevent this, you can insulate the connecting pipes. It will reduce the heat exchange and will help in reducing the power intake.
Final Words
People usually require an expert’s help when water heaters stop working. Maintenance-wise, you'll need a professional's help periodically, like every three to four months. Apart from that, the tips we have mentioned above will help you maintain the hot water tank and improve its performance as well as durability.
