Being a homeowner has its advantages, but it also comes with a lot of potential headaches. One of those headaches can be your water heater. In this article, we’re going to discuss the five most common water heater problems.
Having no hot water in summer is not that huge a deal. But if you’re familiar with the winters in Winnipeg, you know how important hot water can be.
So, to help you diagnose and possibly perform the steps to solve your water heater problems, we’re going to give you the symptoms to look for and how to go about fixing them. Keep in mind that some things you may be able to do yourself, but for others you will need to call a professional Winnipeg plumber.
Lack of or no hot water
If you have a gas water heater, and there’s little or no hot water, there are two things to check:
- Pilot light
- The temperature dial
*If you have an electric water heater, you may have a broken or malfunctioning heating element.
Pilot lights can go out from time to time, so if yours is out, then you can simply relight it. Make sure to follow the relighting instructions for your water heater. Once lit, your water should start becoming hot again.
However, if you find that your pilot light is consistently going out, you may need a new thermocouple.
The other thing to check is the temperature dial. Maybe you just got back from a vacation and forgot to turn the dial back up? Or perhaps someone walking by banged into it and consequently turned it down by accident?
Rusty coloured water
If you’re in the city of Winnipeg, you’re probably already familiar with our annual rusty coloured water problems. However, if there are no reports of discoloured water, and you’re still getting it, you may have a corroded anode rod.
If this is the case, the discolouration comes from the node rods dissolving and the rust entering the water. You will need to replace the rod.
Smelly water
If you’re on well water living just outside Winnipeg, there could be a very logical explanation for your water being smelly. But if you live inside Winnipeg, and there’s no other reports of smelly water, you might have bacteria in your water tank.
Pour some water into a glass and have a good smell. Does it smell like rotten eggs?
There is an easy fix for this. Add a few liters of water with 3% hydrogen peroxide to your tank. Let it sit for about two hours, drain the tank, and then refill it.
If your water still smells funny, you may have to replace your anode rod with a zinc-alloy rod.
Noisy water heater
Water heaters should be generally quiet. If yours starts making excessive noise, such as a popping sound or high pitch squeal similar to that of your car making a noise when a belt is worn out, you may have too much sediment in the tank.
In this case, simply manually flush the sediment out.
Leaking water heater
Hopefully this doesn’t happen to you, but if your water heater is leaking it may be caused by a few different things, such as:
- The water could be overheated. When water is overheated, it expands and leaks out of the tank. Try adjusting your thermostat to a lower temperature.
- If adjusting the water temperature doesn’t work, you may need to replace the valve. It’s also very possible that your water heater has simply run its course and is leaking from rush or corrosion. If that’s the case, you may need to replace the entire tank.
If you didn’t see the water heater issue that you are experiencing in this list, it may be because it’s a less common issue. In this case, you’ll want to look for a trusted plumber in Winnipeg to properly diagnose and fix it.
Dean’s Plumbing & Heating is Winnipeg’s trusted plumber for since 2001. Give us a call!