So you decided to go with a tankless water heater for your home. You’re undoubtedly enjoying the many benefits that it provides such as seemingly unending hot water and lower utility bills. It’s like night and day compared to your old, outdated tank water heater. This is why you might think that your tankless water heater is so amazing, it doesn’t need maintenance at all.
Well, we’re here to tell you that’s unfortunately just not the case. If you want to keep reaping the benefits of a tankless water heater without an interruption in service, it does need tune-ups on a regular basis. Let’s go over a couple of things that can happen if you don’t schedule tankless water heater maintenance.
Mineral Buildup Can Occur
Hard water is something that affects homeowners here in Nashville. Hard water contains high levels of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. You’ll see its effects in the hard water spots on your glasses, countertops, fixtures, bathtubs, and showers. Although they’re unsightly and harmless to drink, they can wreak havoc on your plumbing system.
Hard mineral buildup in a tankless water heater can be even worse than in a tank water heater. That’s because it has smaller inlets and outlets to move water through the heat exchanger. Because these openings are smaller, it doesn’t take much hard water buildup to eventually block these intakes.
You’ll notice this is happening via a drop in hot water pressure and if left unchecked, it could mean the loss of hot water entirely. Luckily, this is an easy issue to address when you schedule water heater maintenance. We’ll flush the system to remove any mineral buildup so you won’t have to worry about the consequences. This service should be scheduled annually.
The “Cold Water Sandwich”
Does it seem like there’s hot water “sandwiched” between two cold water buns? You’ll experience this when you’re taking a shower and the water is cold at first, then becomes hot for a while, but then goes back to cold again.
This is related to the sediment from hard water building up in the system but this time, it has to do with it occurring around the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is the part of your water heater that heats the water. When it gets too clogged up with mineral buildup, some water may pass through the system without it actually being heated. This is when you’ll experience that intermittent supply of cold and hot water.
The Bottom Line
We’re thrilled that you’re enjoying the unparalleled performance from your tankless water heater. Hopefully, we’re the ones who installed it. But you do need to protect your investment. Don’t underestimate the need for water heater services from fully licensed and certified professionals. Your water heater should work so well that you practically forget it’s there, but that’s just not possible without flawless service from an expert.
Covenant Heating and Cooling is your trusted resource for water heater maintenance in Nashville, TN. We are “Dedicated to the Promise of Serving You!” Contact us today.