Regular maintenance and annual inspections to your water heater is essential for extending its lifespan. Water heaters are often ignored until a failure occurs, but regular check-ins can avoid the financial burden. Checking the joints, body and any gaps for leaks is one of the most important steps to ensure the water heater is working properly. Ongoing inspection and maintenance will ensure its peak performance.
Following are 3 different ways you can increase the lifespan of your water heater.
Add Insulation
Insulating your water heater is just like insulating your home – keeps it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer heat. There is a huge impact on your water heaters efficiency and lifespan when insulation is installed. The insulation reduces the amount of heat loss which significantly lowers the cost of the water heating bill. Insulation can be installed around the pipes as well, in the summer months this will contribute to less condensation around the pipes.
Give Your Water Heater Space
This may sound like a no-brainer, but giving your heater the space it needs to do its job instead of having clutter all around it, will drastically increase its lifespan. Having enough space around the water heater for its annual inspections increases the likelihood of finding something that could be wrong with it. Be proactive about maintaining the water heater rather than just assuming it will run perfectly.
Add an Expansion Tank
When water heats up rapidly, its molecules expand. If your water is in a closed system that does not allow any backflow into the water main, the water has nowhere to go when it expands. This constant temperature fluctuation can cause stress to the tank and over time this can cause wear and tear internally to the water tank.
Conclusion
There are multiple ways to extend the lifespan of your water heater, and regular maintenance is the easiest way to do so. Continually checking in on your water heater’s status can help the likelihood of an eventual financial burden. If you are ever struggling with a question or you may need help with your water heater, make sure to call the pros!
