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Your water heater is one of the most important appliances in your home. It uses a lot of energy, but is also vitally important to washing clothes and dishes as well as showering and bathing. When your water heater fails unexpectedly, your scramble to find a replacement could leave you without hot water for days. Potentially worse than that is not getting a great deal on a water heater because you are desperate to get a new one quickly. Just like with any major purchase, you want to be able to carefully weigh your options and decide what is best for you and your family. If your water heater fails and you are not prepared that becomes a lot harder to pull off.
These are the warning signs that your water heater is on its last legs and needs to be replaced sooner rather than later.
Your Water Heater is Old
At some point even a great water heater is at risk of failing. You may have not had any problems with your water heater, but when it gets older the likelihood of it suddenly failing is much much higher. For most types of water heater, the danger zone starts at about eight years old. At that point, you should start looking ahead towards your next unit. Just doing some beginner research could make a huge difference when your water heater does eventually fail. Also, keep in mind that older units may have tons of sediment buildup from hardwater minerals like limescale. If you are able to regular flushings can do a lot to increase the lifespan of your system.
Your Water Heater is Noisy
Your water heater is a complex machine, but it’s not so complex that it should be making loud noises when you need it. The most likely cause of this is again the sediment accrued from hardwater deposits. Flushings are very important and most manufacturer’s warranties recommend them every year. In fact, if your system is new a flushing may be needed to preserve a warranty if you have one.
Lacking Perfomance
At the end of the day, you require your water heater to do one thing which is to keep your water warm and ready when you need it. If you’re having difficulty achieving that, it’s probably time to start looking for an exit strategy. The same goes for rising gas bills. If your system is becoming more inefficient over time, it is a failure in performance as well. Luckily, new water heaters can be so much more efficient that you’ll end up saving a lot.
Leaks!
A water heater leak is a plumbing emergency. The reason is that you are wasting so much energy heating up water only for it to end up on the floor. A hidden water heater leak can cause an extremely high fuel bill and we don’t want that to happen!
If you suspect a leak, we recommend that you clean up the area as best as you can and return in an hour or so. If you notice another puddle, a leak is likely and you should call your plumber right away.
Discoloring Water
Rust-colored hot water is a sign that your water heater has seen better days. It’s very unsettling to see discolored water, so it may be unusable until you get a replacement, especially when you keep in mind the health risks. This one needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.
J&M Plumbing can set you up with any of these systems if you are interested. Give us a call at (215) 987-4607 or fill out an online contact form!