How To Check If You Need A Water Heater Repair | Harvey, LA
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When all goes well, your water heater isn’t something you have to spend much time thinking about. Ideally, you’ll only need water heater repair in Harvey, LA every couple of years, and even then, you’ll probably only need small maintenance-level tweaks to keep it working for years to come.
But when things go wrong with your water heater, you might find yourself needing repairs long before you were hoping to have to take care of the problem. Luckily, knowing the signs of trouble and actually taking the time to look and listen for problems can help you figure out that you need water heater repair before the problem gets out of control. Here’s what you should do as a homeowner!
Examine Your Water Heater Regularly
This should be a no-brainer for homeowners in Harvey, LA, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t take the time to perform a basic check and ensure that their home’s appliances are actually functioning the way that they should. As long as you don’t assume that you can fix something just because you see something, there’s actually a lot you can learn from visuals.
For example, one sure sign that you need water heater repair soon is a leak around your water heater. Usually, that’s a sign that your water heater’s temperature and pressure relief valve is having problems, which can completely ruin your water heater by allowing the pressure in it to build to too high of a level. This kind of repair is usually a simple one for a plumbing expert, as the valve usually either needs to be tightened or replaced. But if you don’t take the time to go check things out, you’ll never know there’s a problem until something really goes wrong.
One good rule is to visually inspect your water heater every month and make sure that everything still looks normal. If anything ever looks off, all you have to do is call for a water heater repair specialist to fix the problem before things get out of control.
Look At The Water Color
If you’ve ever noticed a discoloration in your water, it might mean that you’ve got an issue with your water heater. Before you decide that water heater repair is the solution, however, it’s important to take a step back, check out the color of your water and make sure that the color really is a sign that the water heater is to blame. For example, if you spot pink water in the faucet of your Harvey, LA home, that’s actually a sign that too much of a water treatment chemical was added, not an issue with your water heater.
When it comes to color, the telltale signs of a problem with the water heater are red, brown, or orange colors coming from your faucet. Even then, color alone isn’t a sign that you need water heater repair, because the problem could also be your pipes, another great reason that you should always leave major plumbing issues to a trustworthy professional.
If it is your water heater, the issue is most likely that rust deposits from inside your tank have gotten inside your tap water and discolored it. Rusted water isn’t dangerous, but it’s still not something enjoyable to drink, and it can be really bad for your pipes. Do yourself a favor and schedule a plumbing expert to come to check if the water heater is the issue.
Listen for Strange Sounds
One of the most consistent rules when it comes to plumbing is that when something doesn’t sound right with your plumbing system, there’s a problem somewhere. When it comes to water heater repair, this definitely holds true. Normally, your water heater will make a few sounds here and there, but there’s a difference between the everyday sounds of a functioning appliance and the banging or popping that comes with a water heater that’s masking a potentially serious problem.
Unfortunately, you might not be able to hear your water heater’s problems unless you’re actively listening, because most people aren’t often within range to hear what’s going on with the tank, especially if they live in a larger home. This goes back to checking your water heater regularly to make sure everything’s operating the way that it should. When you do a visual inspection, take a few minutes to make sure that everything also sounds right. One thing you can try is taking a book to the location of your water heater and reading a chapter or two in a spot where you’re close enough to hear the water heater at work. If you can finish two chapters without hearing any weird noises, your water heater is probably OK for the time being.
Check for a Lack of Hot Water
This would be the most obvious sign that something’s wrong with your water heater: cold water coming from the faucets of your Harvey, LA home. If you turn on the hot water and nothing comes out at the right temperature after a few minutes, you’re likely in need of water heater repair, because that usually means something isn’t heating the tank properly.
Keep in mind, if you’ve just taken a shower or run the dishwasher, running out of hot water might not be a problem, because you might have simply drained the tank and not given it a chance to refill. But if you’re turning on the faucet for the first time and you get no hot water, it’s time to contact a specialist for repairs, because either your tank isn’t heating water properly or there’s a problem with getting water to the tank. In either case, you need expert assistance.
At bluefrog Plumbing + Draining of New Orleans, our water heater repair experts know how exactly to help when there’s an issue with the water heater at your Harvey, LA home. If something seems off with your water heating system, give our team a call. We’ll make full repairs and ensure hot water keeps flowing the way it should!
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