Sturgis Journal - Sturgis, MI
  • About the House: How to tell if you need a new water heater

  • Have you ever seen the inside of a water heater? Most people haven’t, most don’t care to, nor is there much need to do so.
    • email print
    However, what we can’t see sometimes can be heard.
    That unseen thing is the buildup of lime and scale that hinders the heating of water. This buildup can actually reduce the amount of hot water received at the tap, and increase the cost to heat it.
    Reduction in the readily available supply of hot water is a slow process, as is the ever-increasing cost. Both are so slow we typically aren’t aware of it happening. Maybe it was like that from the day we moved in and we never knew it to be different, let alone better.
    Try this test: Get the hot water running, then let it run while you go to the utility room and stand next to the heater. Let the water continue to run until it turns cold and the heater starts up. The flow can be shut off at that point.
    Stand near the heater while it heats. If you hear very little except the flow of the water (if left on), that’s OK. If you can hear the muffled “whoosh” sound of the water heating up, that’s great.
    However, if the heater sounds like a popcorn popper making a batch of movie night snack food, it’s time for a new unit; this one’s limed up. When scale from hard water creates heavy deposits inside the tank, the heater must work harder, and longer, to heat the water, resulting in higher energy costs.
    Also, the scale build-up can get to such an extreme that it reduces the amount of heat that can even be transferred. This results in a cooler temperature that makes us turn the flow up higher, which makes the supply run out sooner.
    A related issue, the reverse of not enough hot water, or of it not being hot enough, is having the temperature too high. Water temperatures of 125 degrees and higher can quickly scald people with second- and third-degree burns. This is especially true for the elderly and the very young.
    Running out of hot water is an annoyance. But be aware, and beware, getting burned by it is a real safety concern About the House.
Terms of Service

    Events Calendar