You may be UNpleasantly surprised
Chances are you don’t turn your alarm off in the morning and instantly think of your hot water heater. But, as you turn on the shower, do you ever wonder about the water that you’re jumping into? If your tank water heater is more than eight years old, it’s likely that rust and sediment buildup (yes, you just cringed, didn’t you?) have both decreased the unit’s hot-water capacity and energy efficiency.
As you recover from cringe #1, sediment and rust buildup (often accompanied by with a rotten-egg smell – EW!) can present some difficult issues for homeowners who have an aging tank-style water heater.
According to naturalhandyman.com, sediment builds up gradually and can consist of sand, grit or rust regardless of the hardness or aggressiveness of the water.
Self-help website waterheatertimer.org notes that this sediment and rust slows heat transfer and allows the tank bottom to overheat. This weakens the steel, damages the glass lining, alters the efficiency of the unit and ultimately can cause the unit to fail prematurely.
And that smell we mentioned? Experts such as Magnolia Plumbing, Heating and Cooling in the D.C area adds the classic rotten-egg smell to the list of
problems, serving as evidence of hydrogen sulfide gas (cringe #2).
The unfortunate reality for most hot water heaters is that they sit forgotten in a dark corner of a garage, attic or basement. Their problems begin
silently and unnoticed, only to worsen over time until the tank dies. If you are lucky enough, your tank heater will pass away without incident, instead of
spilling its rusty contents (30-80-gallons) all over the surrounding floor.
Jump over to this link on our site https://www.noritz.com/home-owners/tankless-advantage/ for further information on the
advantages of tankless water heaters.