Since water heating is the second highest utility expense in your home, homeowners should maintain high efficiency of water heaters and lengthen its lifespan. Even though it plays an important role in determining the expenditure of your home, a water heater is used daily without much maintenance and care. It is tucked away in the part of the house that you don’t often visit and this causes prolonged water heater damage that reduces your water heater’s life span to almost half. Most standard water heaters water heater tanks are made of steel and lined with glass or porcelain and last for about 8 to 15 years and as they age, their tanks oxidize and deteriorate. In comparison, tankless water heaters last 2 to 3 times longer than a standard water heater as long as they’ve been taken care of.

Apart from the monotonous procedure of water heater installation, you need to maintain the normal working of your water heater so that your water heater repair costs are minimum. At Intact Plumbing & Heating, our professionals are trained, skilled and experienced in carrying out both simple and extensive water heater repair in areas of Bergen County & Passaic County, New Jersey. We carry out all electric and gas water heater repair as well as tankless water heater maintenance service through emergency bookings and regular appointments.

As a responsible homeowner, it is your duty to follow these wise tips for extending the life of your water heater. They’re proven ways to ensure that your water heater doesn’t give up way before when it has to.

1. INSTALL AN EXPANSION TANK

A proven method to double the life of your water heater, if your water heater works on a closed system, is by fixing an expansion tank. When you heat water in the general sense, it expands which can cause problems in a closed system because there isn’t enough space available for the water to fluctuate in depth. When you have an expansion tank and heat the water from 50 degrees to 120 degrees, the water expands by 2%. The expansion tank will alleviate the water pressure on your system and prolong the lifespan of your water heater which otherwise would deteriorate due to the increase and decrease in the water pressure inside the water heater.

When it comes to installing something new in your home, place your trust on us for all your water heater installation appointments. Our experts have experience in installing even the most complicated systems in an efficient and reliable manner at affordable costs.

2. CLEAN YOUR WATER HEATER REGULARLY

Flushing or cleaning your water heater tank removes and prevents small amounts of sediment that get buildup every time you use the water heater. Water supplies contain some form of trace material known as calcium carbonate that makes up the sediments that are collected inside your water heater. Lack of consistent cleaning and flushing of your water heater can cause prolonged buildup, known as scaling, and drastically reduce its lifespan. To avoid this, you should either flush out or clean your water heater at least once a year. All you have to do is turn off all the water lines connected to the water heater as well the main power. At the bottom of the heater, you’ll find a drain valve, through which the contents of the tank flow out. Open the drain valve slowly and let the water run until it gets clear and rid of sediments. In the end, turn the power back on and give the whole system a flush. If you’re unable to carry out the cleaning yourself, contact our professionals to come extend the life of your water heater, on the same day!

3. INSTALL A WATER SOFTENER

It’s natural that hard water left in your water heater causes scale buildup because of the existent mineral choke from water supplies as well as the high intensity of magnesium and calcium. Scaling can drastically reduce the life of a water heater. By installing a water softener, you can filter out mineral deposits found in hard water, which can reduce the speed at which such sediments gather. A water softener can thus help reduce the overuse of the plumbing system due to its backlash with hard water. These minerals are completely safe for humans, but they’re a hazard for your water heater.

4. INSTALL A PRESSURE REGULATING VALVE

When the water pressure is high, usually above 90 PSI, it can cause immediate damage to your water heater as well as put pressure on other appliances. By installing a pressure regulating valve (PRV), you can reduce the intensity of pressure which can improve the efficiency of your water heater drastically. With a PRV, your system pressure is reduced and it’s even more effective when you install an expansion tank. Get the installation done with a heating service company as they will better understand the precise requirements fitting your water heater and if anything goes wrong, it can be fixed right on the job.

5. ADD OR REPLACE THE ANODE ROD

You can either add another anode rod or replace your old anode rod instantly because it affects the lifespan and efficiency of your water heater, to a great extent. An anode rod is made of magnesium or aluminum that goes through excessive galvanic corrosion in place of your water heater, preventing the corrosion of your water heater tank. Basically, it sacrifices itself for the betterment of your water heater. An anode rod is placed at the center of your water heater. Adding or replacing your worn-out and highly decayed anode rod is very important because that way your water heater tank doesn’t rust and corrode. We, at Intact Plumbing & Heating, advise you to either add a second anode rod or replace your old one once every couple of years. We provide all heating repair services to install or replace parts of your water heater.