What’s Wrong with My Water Heater? : Top Reasons for Water Heater Repair | Harvey, LA
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Water. It’s necessary for so many things in your Harvey, LA, household, from showering and bathing to doing laundry and washing dishes. Without it, the activity in your home can come to a screeching halt quickly. Water heater problems can creep up subtly, but they can also be anything but subtle. Acting fast once you discover an issue with your electric water heater is important. It may mean the difference between a water heater repair call to your local plumbing pro or replacing the unit altogether. Water heater repairs left undone can lead to damage in your walls and floors from leaks, making the problem worse.
Let’s look at some common problems that may necessitate a water heater repair call for water heater repairs so that you can head off major problems at the pass.
Insufficient Hot Water Supply
It’s a familiar scenario. You’re washing dishes or (worse yet) taking a shower when the water turns from steamy hot to ice cold. Turning the tap to add more hot water to the mix doesn’t help. And then after a few hours pass, you notice you have plenty of hot water again.
An easy guess for this problem is that the water heater installed in your home is not large enough for your household’s needs. However, if this problem has only suddenly cropped up and the demand for hot water has not increased, then you may be experiencing a problem with your hot water heater’s thermostat. Try to adjust the thermostat to see if turning it up remedies the situation (be careful here, as turning it up too much can present a scalding hazard at the tap). If that does not work, then a heating element in your tank may have burned out. Another potential cause is a restriction due to a clog in the lines flowing out of the heater. Any of these problems are fixable and just a quick call away.
Water Is Much Too Hot
An unregulated water heater can be a danger to the occupants in your Harvey, LA, home, since it can produce water that is scalding hot. You may notice this if you’ve been burned by the water coming from the tap or if you find it difficult to arrive at a comfortable temperature when you’re working the tap. Again, turning down the heater’s thermostat can help. After turning it down, if the water is still too hot, then it could be the case that the temperature/pressure relief valve in your heater is on the fritz. Call out for a water heater repair appointment as soon as possible.
Water Leaks
If you observe water leaking from the area where your hot water heater is installed, this is never a good sign. A water heater can spring a leak from several different spots, and where it leaks from has a particular meaning. A leak that stems from a pipe above your water heater may be unrelated to the heater itself. However, if your heater’s T&P pipes or hot or cold outlets are leaking a simple valve needing tightening may be the issue. In some instances, however, tightening won’t help and the pipe or valve may require replacement.
Leaks around the bottom of the tank require close inspection. Leaks in this area may be coming from a T&P valve or drain valve located below the heater’s storage tank. These valves are replaceable. However, if you notice that the leak is coming from the tank, then chances are good that the tank has corroded to the point of failure. You’ll need to get the entire unit replaced quickly.
Foul-Smelling or Discolored Water
When you turn the tap, if your water has a rusty look or a weird or foul odor, then you may have an issue with your supply pipes. Moreover, if the bad smell or the weird color is only observable with the hot water supply, then your water heater is a more likely culprit. From water that’s visibly greenish, yellow, or brown, has a rusty taste, or feels slimy and slick, all of these signs point to a problem with your hot water heater’s storage tank.
The most usual cause for water discoloration in your hot water is sediment buildup, which occurs when hardened debris and materials build up inside the walls of your heater’s storage tank. This sediment can cause a lot of different problems, including turning your water an ugly color. A flush of the water heater can rid your tank of this sediment (and in the process, reduce the chance of oxidization and rust in the tank, which can lead to failure of the tank and the aforementioned leaks above). If, after flushing, the water still looks ugly and tastes rusty, then a worn-out rust-preventing anode rod may be the cause. A call out to a professional for a water heater repair appointment is essential to getting the rod replaced and saving your heater from eventual failure.
Noisy Water Heater
Your water heater should be super quiet, and if it’s not, then you may have a problem lurking inside, waiting to rear its ugly head. The most common reason for noise coming from the water heater is sediment that’s developed at the bottom of the storage tank; the noise you hear is the heating element burning this sediment. Draining the tank can help, and should really be done once a year anyway, just to ensure that sediment buildup doesn’t become a problem. Another reason for noise is a heating element starting to fail, which is a quick fix.
Stave off trouble (and water heater repair calls) with an annual or biannual inspection by a licensed plumber. Visually inspect your water heater from time to time to be alert to leaks and problems as they crop up. And reach out to bluefrog Plumbing + Drain in Harvey, LA, for water heater repairs when you notice an issue.
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