Service
Water Heater Maintenance
Annual servicing that extends water heater life: flushing sediment, checking the anode rod, testing the relief valve and verifying the venting.
- Licensed and insured
- Price agreed before work
- A plumber who works your area
Sediment is the thing that ages a tank
Everything else in water heater maintenance is secondary to this.
Water carrying dissolved calcium and magnesium releases them as it heats, and they settle on the bottom of the tank. In a gas heater the burner sits directly beneath that layer, so it ends up driving heat through an insulating crust, wasting fuel and overheating the steel. In an electric heater the deposit forms on the element itself.
Flushing removes it while it is loose. Left for years, it bakes into a hard scale that flushing will not shift, and by then the damage to the tank bottom is done.
That is the whole reason for an annual interval, and it is why the popping noise matters: it is steam escaping through sediment.
The anode rod predicts the ending
Most maintenance reacts to problems. Checking the anode is the one item that tells you what is coming.
It is a sacrificial rod that corrodes so the tank lining does not, and it is the reason a steel tank full of hot water lasts a decade instead of two years. When it is consumed, the tank becomes the thing that corrodes.
So its condition is a direct read on how much life the heater has left. A spent anode replaced in good time buys years. A spent anode discovered after the tank has started weeping is simply information about a heater you are already replacing.
Does this sound familiar?
Problems this service solves
- A heater that has never been serviced
- Rumbling or popping noises during heating
- Gradually declining hot water supply
- A tank approaching the end of its expected life
- Hard water shortening appliance life
Signs you need water heater maintenance
If more than one of these is true, the problem is usually past the point a plunger or a store-bought cleaner will fix.
- The heater makes noise as it heats
- Nobody has flushed it since it was installed
- Hot water supply has reduced over the years
- The property is in a hard-water area
What to expect
How the visit works
Flush the sediment
The tank is drained and flushed to remove the mineral layer on the bottom, which is what insulates the burner or coats the element.
Inspect the anode rod
The anode corrodes so the tank does not. Checking it is the one inspection that predicts tank failure rather than reacting to it.
Test the relief valve
The temperature and pressure relief valve is operated to confirm it is not seized, since a stuck relief valve is a genuine safety issue.
Check venting and connections
On gas units the venting and combustion are verified. On any unit, connections, the shutoff and the drain valve are checked.
What's included
What you get on every job, whoever we send.
- Sediment removed while it is still loose enough to flush
- Anode condition checked, which predicts tank failure
- The relief valve confirmed working rather than assumed
- An interval recommended against your actual water hardness
Questions
Water Heater Maintenance questions
How often should a water heater be serviced?
Annually is the usual advice and it holds up, though the right interval really follows your water. In a soft-water area a tank can go longer without much penalty. In genuinely hard water, annual flushing is the minimum and the difference in tank life is substantial. Look up your utility's published hardness figure rather than guessing, because it varies enormously between cities and even between neighbourhoods.
What is an anode rod and why does it matter?
It is a sacrificial metal rod inside the tank that corrodes preferentially so the tank lining does not. It is the reason a steel tank full of water lasts a decade rather than a couple of years. Once it is consumed, the tank itself starts corroding, and that process ends in a leak that cannot be repaired. Checking it, and replacing it when it is spent, is the single most effective thing you can do to extend a heater's life.
Is maintenance worth it on an old heater?
It depends how old and what condition it is in. On a tank in its first eight years or so, absolutely, because that is what gets it to its full life. On a tank of twelve or fifteen years with a heavily corroded anode, maintenance is unlikely to buy much, and the honest advice is to plan the replacement rather than spend on servicing. A plumber should tell you which of those you have.
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Get it fixed
Water Heater Maintenance, handled locally
Call with your ZIP code and what you are seeing. We route you to a licensed plumber in your area who does water heater maintenance every week.
- Licensed and insured
- Answered 24/7
- Price before work