What Have You Done for Your Water Heater Lately?
It’s pretty darn cold here in the Midwest…almost another Chiberia and people are calling with questions about their water heaters and piping. So we thought we would share a few thoughts on how to take care of your water heater during freezing temperatures. Hot Water 911 is Chicago’s premier emergency water heater repair company and, as such, we love sharing information on what you should know about your water heater.
First let’s talk tankless!
Tankless water heaters themselves need no protection from freezing weather if the electricity and gas are working, however, if the power goes out, the heater might experience frozen water inside the system. If you add an emergency drain pipe during the installation of the tankless water heater, frozen water inside the system might be prevented. The part of the system that needs protecting are the copper pipes that carry the water and during cold water, this can be a problem. Preventing freezing requires a combination of a heat source and insulation that is called “heat tracing” a water system. You can find a very helpful “how to” insulate your copper pipes here on Home Guides.
Keeping your pipes happy!
Along those same lines, whether you have tankless or a tank type water heater, it’s really important to monitor those pipes leading to the water heater to make sure they don’t freeze. Covering your pipes with PVC foam insulation is a smart preventative measure to take. This story from the Jackson Sun tells about a worse case scenario situation with pipes in a home freezing and cracking and what measures have been taken to prevent that in the future…something we can all learn from!
Water usage…it’s an eye opener!
And then there’s how much water we typically use in our homes. We take our water supply and our water heaters for granted until something happens to them. Then we realize how important water and hot water are in our lives. Look at this chart from Energy.gov and see where you might be able to cut back on your water use/waste!
Above all, stay warm and safe!
Hot Water 911 is here to answer and serve all of your water heater maintenance and emergency repair issues. Give us a call at 1-800-GO HOT WATER or email us at info@HotWater911.com and always know that