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Signs of Trouble with Your Water Heater

Thursday, June 5th, 2014 at 12:02 pm

You don’t want to be caught on a Monday morning with a shower that suddenly can’t produce enough hot water—or perhaps any hot water. When a water heater fails, it can mean a few days of discomfort for you and your family until a new one is installed.

Luckily, water heaters usually send warning signs that they are experiencing problems that call for immediate repairs to prevent a full failure. If you notice any of the problems below, get in contact with a repair specialist right away. You will be glad you took action sooner rather than later.

Since 1994, Brooks Plumbing has installed, repaired, and maintained water heaters. You can trust us with whatever problems you have with your home’s hot water supply and your water heater in Lacey, WA.

Warnings of a water heater that might be in trouble

  • Discolored water: If you turn on a hot water tap, and rust-colored water flows out, similar to what you might see after a long vacation, then the heater is either developing rust or has a build-up of sediment inside its tank. Rust needs to be remedied as soon as possible, or the whole water tank will need replacement. Excess sediment will require that technicians flush out the tank. If the sediment remains, it could start to block the valves in the tank.
  • The water isn’t as warm as before: When you notice that the water coming out of a hot water tap is lukewarm and not up to the temperature level you expect, a number of problems might be afflicting the water heater, such as reduced gas power to the jets or a broken mixing valve. These problems will almost always worsen, so have professionals on the job as soon as possible.
  • The hot water runs out too fast: On occasions when the hot water supply cuts off before it should, the issue is often due to a broken dip tube inside the tank, which will deposit cold water near the top of the tank and mix it with the hot water that the circulator pump sends out to the taps. The technicians can fix the dip tube and restore your hot water to its regular amount.

For any of the above problems, it’s possible that the heater has simply aged past the point where it can work efficiently and effectively, and the only “repair” that will stick is to replace the system with a new one. Your water heater repair technician will give you a set of options and help you select the one that will benefit your home and budget the most.

For honest answers and quality work for your water heater in Lacey, WA, call Brooks Plumbing today. We service both storage and tankless water heaters.

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