Can You Repair A Water Heater Tank? Thoughts About Water Heater Repair And Maintenance | Earlville, IL
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For many people, the water heater in their home is a quiet source of warmth tucked away in the basement, even behind basement storage where it’s clear no one has visited for water heater repair or maintenance in some time. Unfortunately, even if your water heater is giving no obvious trouble, without maintenance and necessary repairs its lifespan is usually limited by tank corrosion, and the safety features that manage temperature and pressure issues may or may not still be working correctly. When customers call us for water heater repair, we may note that corrosion is taking its toll, and they might ask if the tank can be repaired. In addition, they may realize that the unit could have been providing much more hot water if the second heating element was functional, and that strange smell from the hot water tap isn’t normal. At Just in Time plumbing in Earlville, IL, we take good care of your hot water heater, and there are many great reasons why you’ll benefit.
Water Heater Maintenance
The key to water heater service life is proper maintenance. Having a water softener to handle hard water can help also since hard water speeds up the corrosion process. Having our water heater repair team clean out sediment in the unit and keep the anode rod in good shape will minimize the effects of hard water’s minerals on your tank and increase the efficiency of your unit. Anode rods also help reduce bacteria growth, a problem can show itself as an unpleasant odor from your hot water taps and shower. We’ll also check your safety valve to make sure you’ve got effective protection against temperature and pressure issues inside the tank, especially as it grows weaker with age. With annual maintenance, we’ll also keep an eye on the unit and help you time any necessary replacement so that you get plenty of service life, but avoid leaks and floods.
About Repairing the Tank
Preventive maintenance is all we do for water heater tanks, ensuring that their corrosion is kept to a minimum with proper maintenance. Once the metal weakens, especially as leaks begin to spring forth, patching it up isn’t a viable option, especially safety-wise since there are likely to be plenty of unpatched areas still prone to rupturing. The thing about appliances such as water heaters, though, is that newer models usually have more energy efficiency features, so when the time comes to replace your water heater, you’ll have a range of standard models with varying levels of energy efficiency, along with hybrid models that could meet your needs. It’s also possible to invest in a tankless water heater and get not only energy efficiency but a steady supply of hot water on demand.
Repairing More Advanced Models
Our water heater repair experts can maintain and service your hybrid water heater, a tank-based model similar to most homes have had in the past, but with dual heat sources, one traditional resistance-based electric, and the other compressor-based heat pump technology that captures available heat, usually from basement air. This can help you save money on energy by reusing what you’ve already got in your home. Repairs for this model include tank, safety valve, and anode rod servicing, along with heat pump compressor care and control electronics that help the unit make the most of its new technologies. Electronic controls are even more extensive in tankless hot water heaters, where sensors and switches respond to the flow of water through the unit as a sign that hot water is required, and turn on the heating. These units typically have few repair needs, but definite maintenance requirements including vent cleaning and filter replacement. Hard water can result in a buildup of minerals near the heating element which needs to be cleaned regularly by water heater repair specialists to avoid heating element problems.
Satellite Water Heaters for Quick Hot Water in the Kitchen or Master Bathroom
Some households combine a basic tank-based hot water heater with remote in-line tankless water heaters where they want more plentiful and perhaps hotter hot water than is available from the main tank that’s adjusted for family-friendly 120 degrees F. This can provide savings as local heating eliminates the need to let the water run for a while until it gets up to temperature. In the kitchen, locally heated hot water provides hygiene advantages, ensuring that your hot water is always hot enough to be used for effective dishwashing and other cleaning activities.
Have You Insulated Your Pipes?
Homes, where hot water pipes run a long distance uninsulated, are losing a lot of the energy invested in heating the water along the way. Insulation can help remedy these losses and provide hotter water at the destination, especially if the pipes are running through an unfinished basement with little heating. Having our water heater repair technicians provide insulation for the water heater itself is also a possibility.
Faucet Technology for Energy Conservation
Another way to save energy and water is to ensure that your hot water faucets are properly serviced and not allowing steady leaks of hot water. Our plumbers don’t just do water heater repair, they can install newer faucets with ceramic washers, paddle-style controls that are easy to shut off while brushing teeth, or touchless models that pause the water flow until you need it again for added savings.
Just in Time Plumbing, Your Water Heater Repair Experts in Earlville, IL
Our Earlville, IL water heater repair team is ready to service your tank-based, tankless, or hybrid water heater for better efficiency service life, along with the safety that ensuring pressure and temperature valves are operating correctly can provide. When your water heater’s ready for replacement, while repairing the tank isn’t a viable option, we have great water heater options and installation service for you. Give us at Just In Time a call to find out more about our water heater services.