You never want to get caught without hot water for your home. It can mean going without showers and baths, and it also will bring a halt to a number of basic, everyday chores. In fact, you’ll never realize just how much you rely on your water heater through the average day… until you suddenly don’t have a working water heater!
The best way to prevent a busted water heater and a major emergency is to know ahead of time the system is starting to fail. You’ll then be able to contact our water heater professionals and arrange to have a new system installed.
Some of the Basic Warnings of a Dying Water Heater
To help you know when you need a new water heater in Cleves, OH or elsewhere in the Greater Cincinnati area, we’ve put together a list of the more common warnings.
- Age: How long does a standard storage tank water heater last? It can be from 10 to 15 years as long as the water heater receives annual maintenance from professionals. However, once a water heater is older than 15 years, it’s probably smart to start planning to replace it before it suffers from a decline in energy efficiency or abruptly fails.
- Corrosion: A water heater has defenses against corrosion, which is the biggest enemy of metal in contact with water. A properly maintained water heater should resist corrosion until the end of its service life… which is why noticing corrosion on your water heater is a major warning sign the system is about done. Sometimes corrosion issues can be repaired (usually by replacing the corroded part) but if an older water heater shows corrosion, it should be replaced.
- Drop in Hot Water Volume: Are more people in your house starting to go without showers in the morning, when that didn’t use to happen? You’re losing the hot water volume, and this is a major warning that the system is starting to die. If the system is only a few years old, you may have trouble with a broken dip tub or sediment along the bottom of the tank. Otherwise, have professionals look into the water heater and see what the best way forward is.
- Discolored Hot Water: When you turn on a hot water tap and notice a reddish rusty discoloration, it often means corrosion is setting in somewhere in the water heater. The trouble could also be sediment, but make sure to contact professionals to find out what’s wrong and if a replacement is the best option.
We’ll Find the Best Option for a New Water Heater
You don’t have to stick with a standard storage tank water heater when you arrange for a replacement system. We offer tankless water heaters, which can help to save money, and heat pump water heaters, which are a great alternative for homes that don’t have natural gas lines and must use electrically powered water heaters. Let our experts determine the right water heater to meet the needs of your family and that will match your budget.
Ken Neyer Plumbing, Inc. serves Cincinnati and the surrounding areas. We have 24-hour service available.