Homeowners Guide to Water Heater Maintenance

It’s possible to save money on your home’s energy bills by using some of these water heater maintenance tips.

We use hot water every day, but have you ever wondered just how much your water heater is costing you each year? Even if you don’t know the exact number, we can bet it’s more than you’d like to be paying. An energy-efficient model or tankless water heater can reduce costs, but most people don’t get a new water heater until they need it. Here’s some advice on how to save money from Dean’s Home Services.

Insulate The Tank

In most cases, even when your water heater is not being used it’s still storing hot water. Chances are, that stored water is cooling off as it sits which means your water heater has to kick back on to heat the water constantly. You can purchase pipe insulation, a blanket, or jacket for your water heater that can reduce heat loss by 25% to 50%.

Use Less Hot Water

Do you crave hot, steamy showers? Do you wash your dishes with water at the warmest temperature? Whether you realize it or not, these tasks are costing you. Lower the temperature a few degrees to cut down on the hot water demand in your home.

Flush Your Water Heater

Generally speaking, dean’s Plumbers recommended you flush your water heater once a year. However, if your home has very hard water that is full of minerals, you may need to flush your water heater more frequently to prevent the buildup of sediment.

Why Flush Water Heater?

If you don’t schedule regular maintenance to flush your water heater, sediment will build up inside of the tank. After a while, the sediment can cause you to lose water pressure in your system — or even cause a pipe burst. If enough sediment builds up, your water heater could stop working altogether. Flushing your water heater is something that can be done by a plumber with Dean’s Home Services, this is something we do daily for Dean’s Club Members during Dean’s Club evaluations.

Insulate The Pipes

Insulated hot water pipes can raise the water temperature at your showerhead or faucet by 2 to 4 degrees on the same setting compared with pipes that are not insulated. Don’t want to go around insulating all of the hot water pipes throughout the entire house? Don’t worry, you only need to do the first 5 to 10 feet from the water heater.

Maintaining the plumbing in your will help prevent costly issues and plumbers with Dean’s Home Services have the knowledge you need to handle all your service needs.