While many homes and businesses still use traditional storage tank water heaters, tankless water heaters are growing in popularity due to their space-saving capabilities, convenience, longer lifespan, and minimal need for maintenance. While it is true that tankless water heaters require less upkeep, that doesn’t mean you should put it out of your mind. Even for brand-new tankless water heaters, preventative maintenance is still needed to ensure it remains efficient and operates at high performance.
While some online sources state that tankless water heater maintenance isn’t necessary until the unit is ten years or older, adhering to this idea could end up causing you more harm than good. If you need further convincing on why you should place tankless water heater maintenance higher on your priority list, read on and soon you’ll be eager to schedule a professional to pay a visit.
Reasons Your Tankless Water Heater Requires Regular Maintenance
At a bare minimum, tankless water heaters should be serviced by a technician at least once a year. In some cases, such as areas where “hard water” is abundant, every 6 months is recommended. Hard water is water that contains high amounts of minerals like calcium and magnesium. Most U.S. homes have hard water, which can be detrimental to water heater systems due to the calcium and sediment buildup that occurs. When these minerals pass through your tankless water heater, they cause scaling, or mineral deposits, and erosion of pipes and system components.
Excessive accumulation of these minerals can:
- Lock up your tankless water heater system
- Hurt its efficiency and performance
- Create clogs and leaks
- Overwork your system until it breaks down
Before long, your tankless water heater will end up with a much shorter lifespan than intended. By scheduling regular cleanings, which involve a professional flushing the system to remove the scale and mineral debris, your tankless water heater can perform at optimum levels.
How We Handle Tankless Water Heater Maintenance
Tankless water heaters are supposed to last over 20 years, but that’s only if you keep up with regular professional cleanings. Our plumbers can start by assessing the level of hard water in your home. The most obvious sign of its presence is a chalk-like buildup around your pipes and drains. Once we examine your system and the level of minerals collected, we will move forward with maintenance.
The most important tankless water heater maintenance tasks include:
- Flushing the system: This would involve us using a vinegar and water mixture + specialized sump pumps and hoses to clean out the tankless system and eliminate the mineral buildup.
- Cleaning the air filter: We would pull out the air filter and perform a detailed cleaning to ensure air flows through the system properly. Once dried, we return it to its place.
- Cleaning or replacing the water filter: A clogged water filter can hurt the performance of your water heater. Replacing the water filter will depend on the condition of the filter after cleaning. Often, cleaning the filter is enough.
- Cleaning the exterior: Dust and debris on the outside of the tankless water heater can get inside and affect performance, so we make sure it’s thoroughly wiped down.
Call Plumbing First for Quality Tankless Water Heater Maintenance
With proper maintenance of your tankless water heater, you can have peace of mind that it will perform efficiently, last longer, and not fail on you prematurely. Our experienced plumbers can perform detailed maintenance of your system to help you avoid expensive repairs or replacements in the future.
Schedule your tankless water heater maintenance by dialing (302) 233-7693, or contact us online.