On chilly evenings from late fall through early spring, a hot shower is an especially nice luxury. Many homeowners, however, are rightly concerned about the expensive utility bills that can result from overworking your water heater. If you want everyone in your household to be able to enjoy a long shower without spending too much money, follow these tips to maximize your hot water and minimize your bills and water heater repair in Flagstaff, AZ & the surrounding areas.
Reduce Your Hot Water Usage
Almost no one enjoys bathing in cold or tepid water, so you can’t avoid using hot water in the shower. But you can cut down on your hot water usage in other places around the house. For example, you don’t always need to wash your clothes in hot water, even if the label recommends that you do. A cold wash, combined with spray-on stain remover for tough spots, is more than adequate for most clothes. You can also conserve hot water in the dishwasher by scraping your plates first and running your dishwasher on its water-saver setting.
Insulate Your Pipes
Your hot water most likely passes through dozens of feet of pipes before it reaches your taps. Because metal easily absorbs and radiates thermal energy, the water can lose several degrees of heat by the time it travels from the tank to your faucet or showerhead. To keep the heat inside the pipes, you should insulate them with easy-to-install foam sleeves. Insulating your pipes also helps prevent bursts and other plumbing emergencies in the wintertime, when temperatures in Flagstaff drop below freezing overnight.
Turn Down the Water Heater’s Thermostat
Most hot water heaters have settings that exceed 140°F, but once your pipes are properly insulated, you can turn the setting down as low as 120°F and still enjoy a nice, hot shower because less of the heat will dissipate as the water flows through the pipes. Also, lowering the temperature setting on your water heater reduces the risk of scalding from excessively hot tap water. This is especially important if you have children or elderly adults living with you, as their skin is especially sensitive to extreme water temperatures.
Check for Sediment Buildup
If your plumbing is old or if your municipal water supply contains a high proportion of dissolved mineral solids, then sediment can quickly build up in your hot water heater. Sediment deposits on the heating element reduce the appliance’s efficiency, and it will begin to use more gas or electricity than it should to heat your water to your preferred temperature. You can eliminate sediment by flushing the water heater. Call a professional plumber if you aren’t sure how to do this, because you run the risk of scalding yourself with hot water if you make a mistake.
A hot water heater that is more than ten years old is near the end of its usable life, and it is probably more cost effective to replace it than to repair it. For more information about hot water heater repair in Flagstaff, AZ and the surrounding communities visit our “Ask the Expert” blog, or visit our homepage for more general plumbing information.
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