Water Heater Woes: Signs That It's Time to Replace This Vital Appliance

Water heaters don’t just allow you to take comfortable baths and showers, they also allow your dishwasher and washing machine to quickly and efficiently fight stains and grease with hot water. Like any major appliance, however, water heaters in Houston can and do break down, and they have a limited lifespan. If you wait until your water heater fails completely, however, you may have to go several days without hot water until a plumber can come replace it, and you risk water damage to your home if the tank leaks and causes a flood. Keep alert for the following signs of water heater failure:

Discharge in the Hot Water

The water supply in most cities, Houston included, contains a certain amount of dissolved minerals. While these minerals do not affect drinking water safety, over time they can build up inside your water heater. As they precipitate out of solution, minerals in your water supply can form a deposit of sediment inside your water heater. When the sediment layer becomes very thick, it may be near the end of the water heater’s life. You may notice that your hot water is extra cloudy or that it even contains fine particles of silt or rust. If this happens, and the cold water doesn’t have any discharge in it, this is a clear sign that it’s time to have a professional plumber come take a look at your water heater.

Increased Gas or Electric Bills

If you have an older home equipped with a holding tank-style water heater, then it most likely uses either gas or electricity to operate. Tank-style water heaters consume a certain amount of energy every day even when you are away from home, because they must hold the water in the reservoir at a constant hot temperature. Check your utility bills each month and carefully compare spending across different seasons. If you see a spike in your spending, even when you have subtracted the cost of heating or cooling your home, an aging water heater may be the culprit. An insulating blanket can help reduce the amount of energy your water heater uses, but it cannot make up for a failing appliance.

Reduced Hot Water Volume

This is the most obvious sign that your water heater needs to be replaced. If it is correctly sized for your home and the number of occupants, a properly functioning water heater should provide you with enough hot water for at least 30 minutes of continuous use, which is enough time for three people to take showers of a reasonable length. If you find that hot water is turning cold, even during the first person’s shower, or if you cannot run the hot water in the kitchen for even a second without giving the person taking a shower a blast of cold water, it’s time to replace your water heater.

In addition to new high-efficiency gas and electric tank-style models, new tankless models that use little to no standby energy are also available to replace your aging water heater in Houston. Visit our main site or consult our Ask the Expert page for more information on water heaters and other plumbing topics.