You may have seen us mention in the past just how important maintenance is for your storage tank water heater. For one, this guarantees its safe and efficient use. Secondly, a huge part of storage tank water heater maintenance is checking the anode rod, or rather, the component responsible for absorbing rust that would otherwise affect the lining of the water heater.
Maintenance isn’t just for conventional storage tank Olympia, WA water heaters, though. This service is vital for tankless systems as well. Many of the tasks performed during tankless system maintenance are the same as for a storage tank system, but some aspects are different and require specialized attention—such as the problem with scaling.
The Impact of Scaling on Your Tankless Water Heater
Scaling affects a tankless water heater system in such a way that your system could fail on you way before its time, if not properly cared for. Scaling occurs due to hard water—that is, water that has a high presence of calcium and magnesium in it. While harmless to ingest, hard water does a number on your entire plumbing system, with no exceptions given to your tankless water heater.
Scaling—that is, when limescale builds up in your water heater due to that hard water presence—can negatively affect the heat exchanger in the system. As you probably know already, the heat exchanger is the component responsible for actually heating up the water to begin with. It’s imperative that the heat exchanger be clean, so water can be heated effectively and efficiently.
Scaling can make your burners work harder, or can overwork a tankless water heater to the point that it breaks down entirely.
How Often Should You Schedule Maintenance?
Tankless water heaters are not quite as demanding as their storage tank counterparts, and can usually go a couple years between maintenance appointments. However, if hard water is a problem in your area or if you are unsure of what your hard water risks are, it’s a good idea to schedule system maintenance on a yearly basis.
Our expert plumbers can test your water for hardness. There are also some telltale signs you can watch for, such as water spots on your dishes right out of the dishwasher, or soap scum buildup on your drains and faucets.
How Long Do Tankless Water Heaters Last?
So long as you have maintenance performed on a regular basis and follow your plumbers’ recommendations for service, tankless water heaters can typically last a little longer than 2 decades. With few moving parts, it’s rare that yours will need many repairs, and it should be able to last even longer than the traditional storage tank model.
Without maintenance, however, your system can begin to fail much sooner than this. If you suspect something is wrong with your storage tank or tankless water heater, then the time to give us a call is now. Neglecting repair needs can not only lead to an ineffective water heater, but a potentially dangerous one.
For quality plumbing service, reach out to the experts at Brooks Plumbing Co. today!
