What To Do Before And After A Water Heater Repair | Irving, TX

Are there things you should do before a hot water repair and afterward that will help you protect your appliances, water quality, health? Most water heater repairs don’t take a long time so it’s fairly easy to stay clean while the hot water’s down, but there are some things you can do to prepare for the disruption and ways to protect against less than perfect water in your hot water pipes right after the repair. Our Tioga Plumbing & Electric team of plumbers in Irving, TX can give you the information you need as part of your water heater service, but it’s always good to be aware of plumbing-related issues that might affect you and your family, even in less significant ways. For example, whenever you have work done on your plumbing, you should make sure to run some water and flush out your pipes, including the lines to your washing machine.

Material in the Water Can Affect Your Clothes and Dish Washing

Any time plumbers work on your pipes, whether it’s for water heater repair or other reasons, there can be material from the repair that briefly enters the water flow and comes out of your faucets. It makes sense to let that exit before you start using your water for food, drink, and washing. Your water heater repair may also disturb sediment from hard water or rust from corrosion that flows through your pipes briefly and could stain clothes in the washer. Our plumbers can give you more information on getting started after a water heater servicing or water heater replacement. They’re always glad to keep you informed about the work that we’re doing and what you can expect when we’re done with your water heater repair.

Sediment from Your Water Heater

Both tank-based and tankless water heaters can accumulate sediment near the heating element, material that’s a condensed form of the minerals naturally found in your water. The minerals in hard water can also lead to faster corrosion of your water heater’s tank, and countering that is one of the jobs that the anode rod does. When we perform water heater repairs and maintenance, we usually check the anode rod to make sure that it is still in place and doing its job, since it does so sacrificially and eventually disappears as it releases material into the water. Another way to deal with corrosion from hard water is to install a water softener unit in your home’s water supply, which can improve your washing and general pipe life as well, and even make your shampoo work better. Ask plumbers or customer service people for more information about water softening, which is not a bad idea in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Make Sure You Know How Hot Is Hot

If you’ve been used to living with lukewarm hot water, your water heater repair that brings it back to full temperature of 120 degrees F or so can be a surprise at first. You’re used to being able to just step into the shower or wash your hands without checking to avoid scalding, since the temperature was always low. This is a good time to remind yourself and make sure others in your home, especially children and elderly who may not feel the temperature and react, realize that your system is back to full functioning after the water heater repair. This also means that your appliances will be using hot water, cleaning and sanitizing as they are supposed to. If you’ve been taking extra measures because you knew the water wasn’t hot enough, especially in hand washing dishes, you can recalculate now and see if those measures are necessary. Some people, especially left-handed folks, may have gotten in the habit of using the hot faucet out of convenience, and that’s not going to work as well anymore.

Preparing for Repairs to Your Water Heater

Depending on the work that the plumbers are performing, they may shut off the home’s water supply entirely or you may simply be without water pressure on the hot water lines. It can be easy to leave faucets open accidentally if they’re not supplying hot water, and then have them gushing forth when the water pressure is restored. Hopefully, that would just waste water until you realize it’s flowing, but if you have any kind of drain issues, you’ll have another plumbing-related mess to clean up, so be careful. If you’re going to need hot water during the time your system is off, for health related issues such as hand washing or warming baby formula, make sure you have alternative methods such as hand sanitizer for hands, and an electric tea kettle for hot water.

Access to Your Water Heater

In many basements, the water heater is tucked in a corner and storage has accumulated around it. Your plumbers will need access, but there are also other reasons to make some room. Since tank-based water heaters can leak or even burst if they fail due to corrosion, it’s better if items aren’t stored too close to the unit. The pressure and temperature relief valve also discharges water if needed to prevent further trouble, and that can cause water damage to nearby storage as well. One way to make use of your space and take precautions as well is to make sure you store in plastic tubs, not cardboard boxes, and to use pallets or other methods to keep valuable materials a few inches off the floor. This also helps if any other plumbing or water table related issues cause water to run across your floor. While we’re thinking about that, is your basement drain in good shape? We can check it for you.

Professional Water Heater Repair in Irving, TX

The plumbers at Tioga Plumbing & Electric in Irving, TX are experts at tank-based and tankless water heater repair and replacement. Our annual maintenance keeps your unit in good shape and prolongs its service life. Call us for quick service.

Photo By Raywoo at Shutterstock