Top 5 Things to Keep Your Bakersfield Water Heater Running

Maintaining a water heater in Bakersfield means thinking about hard water and what it can do to your water heater. Having hard water means you have more calcium and magnesium in your water. When that water is heated and waiting in your hot water heater, the minerals begin to form scale. Scale looks like white particles or thick bits of paper. Over time scale and sediment can build up in the bottom of your water heater, and the longer everything sits in the bottom of the heater, the larger the scale particles become.

Flushing your water heater once a year is the best way to pull sediment and scale out. This sediment and scale is taking up the space of the hot water you want to enjoy while your shower. If you live in a hard water location like Bakersfield, flushing is suggested every six months.

Once every two months give your heater a good look. Check for any wet spots or corrosion at joints. Look for leaking. Turn on a hot water faucet in your house, or set your bathroom shower to run hot water. Then give your water heater a listen. Do you hear any hammering, popping, or cracking sounds? That may indicate a large amount of scale and sediment in your heater. If you note any of these sounds, or spot leaks, give us a call. These symptoms often mean that we need to service your water heater before any maintenance appointment scheduled for a later date.

When you have had your water heater for three years or more, it is time we inspected the anode rod inside the heater. This rod is often called the sacrificial anode because it protects the water heater tank from corroding by corroding itself first. When three years or more have past, the anode rod will begin to deteriorate to a point where it needs to be replaced. Soft water corrodes the anode rod faster than the hard water in Bakersfield. We will inspect the amount of wear and determine how often the anode needs to be checked based on the level of corrosion.

Your average low temperature in Bakersfield in January is 39.3 degrees, and because of these frigid temperatures, we recommend insulating your hot water heater. This consists of wrapping you heater with insulation material. Especially if your heater is in a garage or accessed from an outside closet door, insulation can improve efficiency up to 40% and save your heater from working so much harder in the winter.

The Plumbing Doc can take care of all of your hot water heater maintenance needs so that you don’t have to think about it. Give us a call at (661) 836-1620 to schedule an initial appointment. We can give your hot water heater an inspection, provide any flushing, part replacements, or repairs that need to be done and put you on a maintenance schedule. We are here to serve you and take hot water heater maintenance off your list of things to-do.