Your tankless water heater is an amazing bit of plumbing technology, and it’s now the preferred way to heat water in your home. But it’s not without its faults. Unlike tank-style water heaters, they don’t store hot water, so you might think “That means I don’t have to flush them out.”
Unfortunately, you’d be wrong. Tankless water heaters in Sacramento, CA still need to be flushed out to prevent scale buildup and other problems from occurring. Let’s talk about when and why you should get them flushed.
Mineral Buildup Still Happens
With a tankless water heater, water still runs through the pipes, it’s just not sitting inside a big tank. It’s easy to think about mineral buildup not being a thing since it’s not just pooling there, but it still happens.
In fact, it may be even more detrimental to your water heater’s performance due to how restricting a small tankless water heater is. There’s less room for error and buildup before it starts causing problems. So how can we figure this out?
Signs That Your Tankless Water Needs to be Flushed Out
It’s hard to feel the effects of something like this until it breaks down and you’re without hot water. Let’s avoid that happening in the first place, though. Here’s what you need to look out for so you know if your tankless water heater is on the fritz or not.
- Decreased flow of water: Your water comes out slower, but it’s not as if there’s more pressure. But wait–your cold water comes out just fine, so what gives? The water that’s passing through your tankless water heater is passing through a constricted line; that’s why it’s coming out slower.
- Decreased temperature: When mineral buildup happens, it can act like insulation. The inside of the pipe that carries water to be heated is thick with scale, so the heat from the outside essentially heats up the scale and builds up before it heats up your water. This leads us to our next point.
- Waiting longer than usual for hot water: If your tankless water heater is taking its time to heat up the water because of a blockage or buildup, it’ll take longer than usual. You may be used to about 40 seconds of a waiting period before hot water comes out, but when it steadily increases over time, it’s a problem.
Flush it Out Once a Year
Your tankless water heater still has to process water, so just because it isn’t stored locally in a big tank doesn’t mean you can avoid flushing it out from time to time. Because tankless water heaters are so out of sight and out of mind, it’s difficult to remember that they need this crucial maintenance.
Plan your tankless water heater maintenance ahead of time and set up an annual appointment. You don’t have to think about it, but you know it’s getting done and maintaining your comfort. It’s a win-win
Contact Sierra Pacific Home & Comfort, Inc. today to schedule your tankless water heater and get back to enjoying your home comfort, all thanks to The Guys in the Big Red Trucks.