Reliance Plumbing Sewer & Drainage, Inc. Blog: Archive for the ‘Water Heaters’ Category

What You Need to Know About Water Heater Tank Flushes

Monday, March 28th, 2022

tank water heaterThe water heater in your house can account for around 17% of the energy used in your home each year. That makes it the appliance that consumes the most power of any single indoor appliance in the household. Unlike a gas-powered furnace, you rely on your water heater almost every day, so it’s especially important to have it well taken care of. Without regular maintenance, a water heater can quickly become a huge energy drain and will wear down far faster.

The water heater tank flush is one of the key parts of regular maintenance that keeps a water heater running at higher energy efficiency and helps ensure a long service life. We’ll answer some important questions about tank flushes in this post. 

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Signs You’ve Got a Dying Water Heater

Monday, January 17th, 2022

water-heatersWater heaters are designed for durability, but they also do a tremendous amount of work in homes around the year. Compare the water heater in your house to the heating system you use to stay warm. You only run the heater during the cold months of the year, and it gets a long summer vacation. Your water heater, on the other hand, works almost every day. All that wear and tear takes a toll, and at some point you’ll confront a water heater that’s on the way out. At what point do you know it’s time to stop repairing your water heater and get a new one?

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Benefits of a Tankless Water Heater Installation

Monday, January 4th, 2021

tankless-water-heater-misconceptionsWhen we say “water heater,” what image springs to your mind? It’s likely a big storage tank with a number of pipes and lines sticking out of it, right?

Now, take away the tank and replace it with a much smaller box.

You might be confused at this point—how is a box going to keep all that water hot? Well, because it’s much more than just a box. It’s a tankless water heater.

This type of water heater is just about exactly what it sounds like—it is a hot water heater that doesn’t require the use of a large storage tank to hold gallons of water until it can be used. Also called an on-demand system, it’s space-saving and prevents flooding, among other benefits. Read on as we uncover facts about tankless systems that will make you want to upgrade today!

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Are You in Need of Tankless Water Heater Maintenance?

Monday, May 25th, 2020

tankless-water-heaterStorage tank water heaters are large, always noticeable, and can even be a little noisy. In other words, it’s pretty hard to not pay some attention to a conventional water heater, if that’s what you have in your home. You likely know that it needs occasional maintenance from a professional plumber in Glenview, IL. Scaling can have a major impact on it after all, enabling mineral buildup that causes issues with water pressure, temperature, and even potential corrosion. They need occasional flushing to offset this problem.

But tankless systems don’t need maintenance, right?

Wrong! Much of the maintenance done for conventional tank water heaters is actually quite similar to the maintenance performed on tankless systems. Read on as we uncover why you do, in fact, need routine maintenance for your tankless water heater.

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The Problem with Scaling in Your Water Heater

Monday, January 20th, 2020

water-heater-tankIf you’ve never heard the term “hard water” before, we’d be surprised. If you told us you don’t know what hard water is or why it’s a problem, we’d be less surprised. The truth is, even though hard water is a very common thing, not a lot of people know what it actually is.

Hard water is water with a large presence of minerals in it—namely calcium, magnesium, and sometimes iron. These minerals are harmless to ingest, which is probably why not too many people worry about hard water. Unfortunately though, this complacency can lead to plumbing problems.

As harmless as hard water is for us, it’s actually harmful to your pipes. What happens is scaling—scaling is when deposits are left behind from hard water. In your drain openings and on your shower head, this shows up as limescale. But in your water heater, it settles right down in there, where you can’t reach it. And there’s your problem!

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Do You Need Water Heater Repair?

Monday, December 9th, 2019

technician-servicing-water-heaterYour plumbing is something that’s easy to take for granted—after all most of this system is hidden from view and “out of sight, out of mind,” right? If there is any portion of your plumbing in Des Plaines, IL where this is most true, it’s your water heater. Though tank water heaters are pretty large, they’re usually tucked away in the corner of a garage or behind a door in a storage closet.

So, it’s easy to miss when it needs repair. Unfortunately, neglecting repair needs can lead to a complete water heater failure, and if there’s anything you don’t want to be without this winter—or really any part of the year—it’s hot water, right?

What is it, exactly, that you should watch out for with your water heater? Are there clear signs that a water heater is, in fact, in need of professional repairs? Certainly! Read on.

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What Does Scaling Mean for Your Water Heater?

Monday, March 4th, 2019

water-heater-repair-manOne of the most common issues to face your water heater is also one of the most misunderstood—scaling. Scaling is a result of hard water—when your water supply has an excessive amount of minerals in it, like calcium and magnesium. These deposits build up within your pipes and fixtures and can go awhile unnoticed, but can have a big impact on your water heater or boiler system.

Keep reading to learn more about this issue, and when you need your water heater flushed, want to schedule maintenance, or need any other type of professional plumbing in Palatine, IL give our team a call!

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Yes, Tankless Water Heaters Need Tune-Ups Too

Monday, July 23rd, 2018

Tankless water heaterThe traditional water heater—the storage tank model—is pretty big, usually very noticeable, and often a bit noisy. As such, many homeowners realize a system such as this needs occasional maintenance, and are likely to schedule that service on a regular basis.

After all, scaling can have a major impact on a water heater, enabling a mineral build up that clangs around noisily inside the tank, causing issues with pressure, temperature, and potentially even corrosion. They also may need flushing on occasion to offset this issue.

What many homeowners don’t realize, however, is that if they have a tankless water heater, it also needs maintenance. And you may be surprised to learn that much of the maintenance performed on tankless systems is similar to that of storage tank water heaters. Keep reading to learn more, and be sure to call our team for your next water heater maintenance appointment.

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Does Your Water Heater Need Maintenance?

Monday, May 28th, 2018

tankless water heater on groundOne of the most common questions we get about Glenview, IL water heater installation or replacement is whether or not these systems need regular maintenance, like other components of one’s plumbing system and home.

The short answer is “yes.”

Take the traditional storage tank water heater, for instance. Maintenance is required to check for scaling, which is essentially a mineral buildup that can cause problems with pressure, temperature, and possibly even corrosion. Tank water heaters may often need flushing, which we can do during maintenance. These systems also have a component called the anode rod, to absorb rust—this needs to be replaced every few years.

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Water Heater Scaling: Should You Be Concerned?

Monday, March 19th, 2018

tank water heaterYou may have heard the term “hard water” before, especially if you’ve ever read any of our other blogs. It can sound like a pretty intimidating term, in regards to your water quality, but fortunately it’s not actually harmful to your health (it’s another story for your plumbing system though, which we’ll get to below).

Hard water describes water that has an excess of the minerals calcium and magnesium. And in your Glenview, IL water heater, this hard water causes a process called scaling—when the deposits are left behind inside the tank. In a faucet it’s fairly easy to get rid of scaling, but in a water heater it’s a different story.

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