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Ask a Plumber: What Happens During Water Heater Maintenance?

Owning a home is a crowning accomplishment and something to be truly proud of, but it’s also a huge responsibility! There are a lot of things in your home that needs to be regularly maintained, your AC, your floors, and your furniture come to mind immediately, but what about your water heater? Chances are you didn’t think of that instantly to be maintained, but without regular maintenance, a water heater can go bad and cause minor headaches and even major damage to your home.

Why Maintain a Water Heater?

Your water heater stays nicely hidden in a closet or the basement, and for the most part, it does its job without the need for any attention, so why does it need maintenance? For starters, to keep them running. If water heaters go without maintenance they can stop running and that means you could stop having hot showers! Maintenance is also necessary to keep them running for their entire life expectancy, a mistreated water heater can die before its time and this could mean costly repairs or replacements before they should’ve been needed.

What Maintenance is Done?

Most of the time water heater maintenance consists of 3 major parts, checking its age, draining the water heater, and checking the pressure relief valve.

  • Age– One major part of maintaining your water heater, especially in Alexandria, is checking how old the heater is. Believe it or not, water heaters have a life expectancy. They tend to only last between 7-10 years. If you live in an older home or can’t remember when the water heater was installed, it could very well be pushing its life boundaries and will need to be replaced soon.
  • Draining- Your water heater pumps a lot of water through it daily, and this water runs through the ground. That means it carries with it minerals and sediments that often build up in the bottom of the heater. Draining the water heater allows the built-up sediment to be released and allows the water heater to function more efficiently, saving you money in the long run.
  • Pressure Relief Valve- Water heaters have pressure relief valves on them, and this helps regulate the amount of water pressure that runs through the heater. If the valves get damaged or become too old to function properly the water pressure could build up dangerously high and could potentially even explode. If a potential explosion doesn’t warrant maintenance, nothing does!

Water Heater maintenance is a priority for Home Service Doctors to ensure your home is safe and efficient.

Call the Plumerologist today to schedule your water heater maintenance service from the experts!

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