Your water heater provides a necessary service for your home, ensuring your hot and cold water runs through your pipes without fail. All sorts of appliances, from your shower to your dishwasher and washing machine, rely on your water heater to continually provide them with hot water.
This can make a damaged water heater a significant detriment to an effective home. If you’ve noticed your water is losing its heat faster than normal or that your water pressure’s been dropping unexpectedly, you may have some manner of water heater damage on your hands. Luckily, the professionals serving your area can help you restore your heater and bring comfort back to your home.
Protecting Your Water Heater
Your water heater is more sensitive than its size might suggest. With that in mind, you’ll want to take a few steps to ensure it’s as safe as possible after its initial installation. Some of the best ways to protect your water heater from damage include:
Keeping the Space Around It Clean
Dust and grime can have more of an impact on your water heater’s functionality than you might suspect. You’ll want to make a point to keep the area around your water heater relatively clean, especially if you have a gas water heater. If you let dust and grime build up over time, you may find yourself dealing with weakening water pressure as that grime gunks up your water heater’s inner workings.
Similarly, do what you can to keep larger debris away from your water heater. If you find yourself dealing with an infestation of any kind, you’ll want to get any nests that have built up around your water heater taken care of as quickly as possible.
Install Insulation Around the Pipes
As mentioned, your water heater provides a necessary service to your entire home. Protecting it essentially means protecting the whole house. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure you’ve invested in insulation for the water heater pipes and any pipes around it.
If you’re interested in installing insulation in the home at large, make sure that area professionals make a point to protect the pipes connected to your water heater. The pipes coming out of your heater are especially sensitive to changes in temperature. Come winter, the extra insulation you’ve installed will likely keep your water heater pipes from leaking or even bursting.
How Do Professionals Test Your Water Heater?
It’s not a good idea to try and test your water heater on your own. Instead, if you suspect something’s gone wrong with your heater, reach out to the professionals in your area. They can come out to your home and take a look at your water heater on your schedule. This way, you can determine whether the water heater’s malfunctioned due to a mechanical error or the presence of moisture in your crawl space or attic, which can corrode pipes.
There are many different ways to test a water heater. The main difference will have to do with whether you have a gas water heater, electric water heater, or tankless water heater. For example, to test a gas water heater, the expert will have to check the gas flow and the oil pan. For electric water heaters the expert will have to check for leaks and a constant electrical current. An expert can check all the small elements of the water heater to ensure that it’s working properly and that the vents are functioning well.
Manufacturers vs. Professional Contractors
There is one trick that may make dealing with a damaged water heater a little more complicated. If you’re faced with damage that originates in your water heater, the professional contractors may direct you to the appliance’s manufacturer before you invest in any immediate repairs. If, for example, the water heater is under warranty, you may have the opportunity to have any damaged parts or even the whole appliance replaced.
Similarly, make sure you check in with your insurance provider if your water heater goes out from under you. Home insurance providers can be a little tricky when you’re trying to file a claim related to water damage, but they tend to honor claims that detail damage that originates from an appliance in the home.
You may receive money back for your losses if you approach your provider in a timely manner.
Work with Area Professionals to Protect Your Home’s Utilities
Have you noticed something off regarding your water heater over the past few weeks? Trust your gut. If you think something’s gone awry in your home, reach out to the professional contractors at A1 that serve Chesapeake County. You can walk through your home together and determine whether your home’s water heater is malfunctioning or not working as effectively as it could.
Professional contractors in Virginia Beach, VA, can provide you with a service quote detailing the repairs you may need to make sure your water heater works perfectly. Once you feel comfortable moving forward, you can take the steps you need to repair any damage you’re dealing with.
