While Mesquite winters are not often frigid, it can get cold enough to make living without a water heater unpleasant. This is why fall is the best time of year for water heater maintenance. Besides both avoiding and preparing for wintry weather, fall maintenance and troubleshooting also, frankly, saves our plumbers the discomfort of working during Mesquite’s blazing hot summer. Late spring to early summer is also when tornadoes are most likely to strike in this part of the country.
What Happens During Water Heater Maintenance
During water heater maintenance, the plumber comes to your house, turns the power off to the heater, and shuts off the cold water valve that feeds the tank. They’ll then test the pressure relief valve. If water comes out when the valve is opened, the tank is working. If nothing comes out, the tank is broken, maybe even to the point where it should be replaced..
The plumber then checks the state of the heater’s anode rod. This rod attracts sediments to it so they won’t corrode the rest of your water heater. This is why it’s sometimes called a sacrificial anode rod. The plumber keeps the power and the shut-off valve off but opens a hot water faucet. Then, they’ll allow some of the water in the tank to drain. Any rust in the water is also a sign that your water heater probably needs to be replaced.
If the water’s clear, the plumber checks the anode rod itself because it still may need to be replaced. Signs that you’ll need a new one could be that it’s covered in limescale, that a lot of its core wire is exposed, or that it is less than half an inch thick. The good news is that getting a new anode rod is not expensive.
After checking or replacing the anode rod, the plumber drains the tank. This action flushes out much of the sediment that wasn’t captured by the anode rod but that settled to the bottom. An accumulation of this sediment can lower the temperature of your water and, over time, reduce the lifespan of the water heater.
Finally, the plumber adjusts the temperature of the water. Though you may be tempted to want it hotter, the best temperature is about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This gives you warm showers and baths while it saves you money on your energy bills. The plumber then insulates the heater’s pipes and the heater itself.
Call Flow Plumbing for Water Heater Service
As the fall weather approaches, now is the time to call Flow Plumbing to check your hot water heater. Our reliable, experienced, and licensed plumbers have been proudly serving the Mesquite area since 1989. We not only maintain our customer’s water heaters, but we also perform all manner of general plumbing, including drain cleaning and leak detection. Contact Flow Plumbing for your water heater today.
