One of the benefits of having a tankless hot water heater is not waiting on an entire reservoir of water to heat up–it just keeps flowing. It’s easy to disassociate the problems of a tank water heater from tankless, but they still share some common problems.
When you call for water heater service in Chevy Chase, MD, you may not have to worry about pooling sediment at the bottom of a tank unit, but you can still get buildup in a tankless water heater. Let’s talk about what it causes and how you can fix it.
Mineral Buildup Still Occurs
Just because there isn’t a tank doesn’t mean mineral buildup just stops. Your water runs through pipes that go through your tankless water heater and can still create scale buildup along the interior.
In fact, it may actually lead to problems that you thought couldn’t happen with a tankless water heater. There’s less room for error and buildup before scale starts causing a problem in your tankless water heater, and this is what it can do.
Signs Your Tankless Water Heater Needs to be Flushed Out
It’s always hard to tell that you need something until it breaks down or fails on you. Before that happens, you’ll get some subtle warning signs from your tankless water heater. These are some of them.
- Slowed Flow of Water: Your water actually comes out slower when you have scale buildup. It’s not super noticeable at first, but then you realize that it’s just the hot water. If your cold water runs faster than your hot water, that indicates a problem. The line is constricted.
- Hot Water Takes Longer Than it Used to: When mineral buildup happens, it acts like insulation. The scale heats up before your water does, so it takes longer for the heat to actually reach your water. If you’re used to waiting 30 seconds for the hot water to kick in, now it’ll be more like 50 or 60 seconds. That’s your main sign that there’s a problem.
- Decreased Water Temperature: Your tankless water heater does its job, but when the water hitting your hands from the faucet isn’t as hot as it used to be, it might not be a problem with the actual heating part of the process. When scale prevents the water from heating up as quickly as it’s supposed to, the end water temperature can be lower.
Flush it Out Once a Year
So you still need to flush your tankless water heater, but it doesn’t have to be a chore. Allow us to handle your annual tankless water heater maintenance all in one fell swoop, from flushing it out to a full inspection, so you don’t have to worry about anything hindering your access to constant hot water.
If you aren’t already set up with annual maintenance for your tankless water heater, you may not get the full extended lifespan from your unit. One of the benefits of tankless over tank water heaters is longevity—keep up on maintenance or it won’t last as long as you think.
Contact Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing today to schedule your next tankless water heater maintenance appointment and maintain your level of comfort.