If there’s one thing that commonly frustrates homeowners, it’s bills.
Taxes and bills.
We can’t do much about the taxes here, but we might be able to offer you some advice in this article that will save you a lot of money down the line on water heater repair.
And to make things better, much of what we’ll mention here in this article won’t only help lower your repair bill but can also lower your monthly gas/electricity bill.
Doesn’t that sound great?
1. Perform Routine Maintenance Checks
We’ve talked about this at length before in previous articles.
And we still maintain that this is something all homeowners should be doing on a regular basis, regardless of whether or not they think there is a problem.
The truth is that problems often start small, and you don’t notice them at first.
Like cockroaches, by the time you see one, you can bet there are already many more that you haven’t seen yet.
That’s why it’s good practice to schedule a specific date at least once or twice a year with a plumber to have them come and check everything.
You can run maintenance checks yourself if you just want to save money.
But it’s far better to spend a little bit of money on a plumber now than spend thousands later on water heater repair because you missed something a plumber would have caught.
2. Install an Expansion Tank
More specifically, have your plumber install an expansion tank.
For safety reasons, this is one of those things you probably don’t want to do yourself.
An expansion tank is a helpful thing to have if you can afford one because it is basically something that relieves pressure on your main tank.
Put simply, it’s an additional tank that catches backflow from the main tank to prevent it from getting too pressurized.
Naturally, this can help prolong the lifespan of your main tank, which will likely both reduce your water heater repair costs and push the repair dates out further.
Just as with any other piece of equipment, you will eventually need to repair and replace things, but this is a way to reduce the frequency with which you need to do that.
3. Flush Out Your Tank At Least Once Every Year
You could choose to do this once or twice a year, but you probably don’t need to do it more often than that unless you just really want to.
To do this, you shut everything off and drain the water out of your tank.
Once you’ve done that, you inspect the tank for any damage or debris.
This is one of the things on this list that is relatively easy to do yourself.
However, like with all things plumbing-related, it’s best to call a professional and let them handle it for you if you have the option of doing that.
This is because some damage may not be noticeable to you, and the removal of certain debris may require tools that you don’t have.
To make things as easy as possible, you can just include this as part of the routine maintenance we mentioned earlier to reduce future water heater repair costs.
4. Check or Replace Your Anode Rod
Your water tank is made of metal.
Water corrodes metal.
So why doesn’t your water tank corrode faster? It’s because of the anode rod.
Your anode rod is one of the most important parts of your water tank because it essentially acts like a kind of corrosion magnet.
Basically, it attracts the minerals and other corrosive elements in your water tank that would otherwise cause your tank to corrode.
And this causes the anode rod to corrode instead of your tank.
Without a well-functioning anode rod, your water tank would be toast after a relatively short amount of time.
So, it’s vital to regularly check your anode rod and make sure that it’s in top working order.
If you start noticing things like rust or smelly, discolored water, replace your anode rod with a new one.
5. Insulation
You insulate other parts of your home, and you can insulate your water heater for the same reason: to reduce energy costs and prevent overwork.
If a ton of heat is constantly escaping from your water heater, it will naturally need to work harder to maintain the same heat.
Luckily, you can reduce your water heater’s workload by insulating the outside of it to prevent that heat from escaping so quickly.
Doing this can also have the added benefit of making your water heater less dangerous to be near, as it provides a non-metal barrier between the water tank and human skin.
And to make it even better, insulating your water heater is one of the ways to reduce your future water heater repair bills that you can pretty easily do yourself.
When It Doubt, Just Call a Plumber
Actually, even if you’re not in doubt, call a plumber anyway.
Every qualified plumber has spent years training to understand and handle water heaters.
Not only will they be able to help you with any water heater repair needs you have, they’ll also be able to answer any plumbing-related questions you have.
And we encourage you to ask them as many questions as you can think of.
Doing so helps you get on the same page with them while also helping them better understand where you’re at and what else they might need to explain to you.
An informed and knowledgeable homeowner is a happy homeowner (and an easy customer for a plumber to help).
