When you turn on a hot water tap in your house and no hot water comes out at all, that will set off the alarm bells. Something must be wrong with the water heater! We’ve addressed this issue before and what might lurk behind it.
But what if the problem is that the hot water doesn’t feel hot enough? The water heater is doing something, since you can tell the difference between the cold water and hot water sides. But your showers have become uncomfortably lukewarm and washing dishes in the sink is more difficult. What might be going wrong?
We can answer this question easily by first asking you another question: Has your water heater received maintenance this year?
Hard water is water that has a high level of minerals suspended in it, principally magnesium and calcium. This isn’t harmful for drinking; after all, these minerals are found in food. However, those minerals are not good for the plumbing in a home, and they also affect the ability to keep both the house and people in it properly clean. (Soap doesn’t dissolve well in hard water, leaving to filmy deposits, itchy skin, flat hair, and more.)
Because we enjoy mild winters in Santa Barbara and Ventura County, we don’t place too much emphasis on our household heating systems. But there is a heating system in your home that works all around the year. It’s your water heater, and fall is as good a time as any to consider the future of your current water heating system. No water heater lasts forever, and at some point you’ll need to arrange to have it replaced.
Most of us can relate with the feeling of the hot water shutting off on us during a shower. If you’re using a tank water heater, then you know that you’ve simply used up all the water and will have to wait for some more.
Your water heater is acting strangely… does this mean it’s time for replacement? Well, it could, but this time, we only want to talk about problems that aren’t nearly as drastic as they seem. So relax! That doesn’t mean these problems are completely harmless, of course, but we won’t leave you in the dark on how to proceed. Here are some minor plumbing problems that you should be on the lookout for.