What Are The Signs of A Failing Water Heater?

The water heater in the home is one of the most dependent upon appliances. Think about it; how many times so you use hot water during the day? You use it for showers, to wash your face, to wash and clean your dishes, and to wash and clean the clothes. Thus, when this appliance goes out, you are stuck without any of these options and have to call in the appliance repair expert in Niagara Falls. You can avoid this total chaos by watching for signs that the water heater is going to give out on you. Here are the four most common signs:

1. How old is your water heater?

It is important that you know how old your water heater actually is. You can find the serial number on the water heater, normally it is located toward the top of the water heater. Finding this number will also give you the date it was manufactured within the serial number. For example, if there is an F in the serial number, the F is the sixth letter of the alphabet making your unit created sometime in June. The first two numbers in this serial number is the year. If the first two numbers were 17, then the year that this unit was created would be 2017.

If a water heater is more than ten years old, chances are you need to replace it. After ten years, the units do not function at full capacity and this reflects in how they heat water and how much it takes to heat them up to the temperature that you need them to be.

2. Rusty water

If you notice rusty water coming from the pipes, your water heater may be starting to give out on you. This is a sign that the rust is occurring on the inside of the tank which will ultimately lead to leaking sooner rather than later. If you are using galvanized piping, you may also have rusting of the pipes. You can determine where the rust is coming from by going to the water heater and drain some water into a five-gallon bucket. If you notice that there is rust in the bucket, the rust is coming from your water heater. If you don’t see any rust, then the rust is coming from the galvanized pipes.

3. Rumbling and noise

Noises coming from your water heater is normal but if they start to sound like something from a horror movie, then you may have a problem with your water heater. Over time, the sediment inside of the water will settle into the bottom of the tank. These sediments are heated and heated over again. It eventually hardens and makes it too difficult to move with in the tank. You will eventually hear rumbling or a banging sound when the water is heating up.