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4 Easy steps to Perfection with a Tankless Water Heater
While there are a wide array of different water heaters to choose from in today’s market, tankless water heaters are becoming increasingly more popular and for good reason. Tankless water heaters provide reliable and continuous hot water on demand at a moment’s notice.
In today’s economy, tankless electric water heaters are using heating coils instead of tanks which provides an approximately 20% savings when it comes to energy saving costs. This is vital as these heaters are long lasting too, while providing an 18% of home energy costs stem specifically from heating water in your home.
If taken care of properly with the correct annual water heater maintenance and routine inspections, this can increase the efficiency of your tankless water heater by providing longer lasting services and off-setting the costs of installing a new water heater anytime soon.
Here are four easy steps to getting the most out of your tankless water heater:
1. Clean the water filter: Over time just like the consistent usage with anything, your tankless water heater can become blocked with debris and sediment. In order to maintain efficiency and proper working condition, you will want to make sure to take the time and clean out this filter.
In doing so, you will need to:
• Turn off the water
• Remove the filter
• Wipe it down gently
• Re-install the filter by placing it back in the water heater
2. Clean the air filter: Just as the filters in your house need to be replaced every 6 months to a year, so do your water heater filters. While air filters can accumulate dust over time, it is relevant to how the water filter will accumulate debris over a period of time. This is a simple fix that is part of the annual maintenance and should take only minutes to do.
To clean the air filter, you will need to:
• Use soapy water
• Grab a brush
• Wipe down the air filter
• Rinse off with warm water
• Re-install the filter by placing it back in the water heater
3. Flush the system: Just as debris can build up over time, so can minerals as they accumulate in the heating chamber of your water heater. In doing so, this often times reduces the efficiency of your water heater and can create serious damage if left unchecked.
To mitigate from this happening, it is absolutely essential to take the time to flush out the system. On average, your tankless water heater needs to be flushed out one to two times a year depending on two key factors:
• Hard water vs. soft water
• Average water heater temperature usage
While changing the air and water filter out on your tankless water heater is a relatively easy one to do at home, flushing out the system is a game changer and often times requires a professional to help assist with this process.
Once you have a professional who specializes in maintenance care for tankless water heaters, they will proceed in doing the following steps:
• Use a vinegar water mixture
• DO NOT USE CHEMICALS (This could lead to health issues down the road)
• Turn off the power to the water heater
• Use a sump pump to pump the vinegar mixture into the system (This mixture eats away the mineral buildup)
• Use the sump pump again to pump plain water into the system (This flushes out the vinegar mixture along with any previous debris that was left over)
4. Routine inspections: One of the best things you can do to add to the longevity of the water heater is to conduct routine inspections on your tankless water heater. In doing so, you will be able to look for any obvious signs of potential issues such as broken parts.
Make sure to take the time to check the pipes, valves as well as the heating elements. Also be on the lookout for any leaks or rust you see starting to form. By taking these measures and inspecting your tankless water heater Everett annually if not bi-annually, will provide you an opportunity to address any problems in a timely manner before they snowball into larger, more complicated issues that could be more costly.
It is always important to keep in mind that a little care will go a LONG way. In taking these proper steps to maintain your tankless water heater, this could expand the life expectancy for your water heater to run up to 20 years if taken care of correctly. It will have a significant return on its benefits by providing you and your household with energy savings all along the way.
If you do not currently have a tankless water heater at the moment, don’t hesitate to reach out to Big Sky Water Heaters today. We have a team of highly qualified and certified professionals with expertise to advise you on your water heater needs and provide you with a quote on a tankless water heater replacement today.