Since tankless water heaters are so much smaller and have less components than a traditional tank water heater, many homeowners might think theirs doesn’t actually need maintenance, but this actually isn’t the case.
We understand why you might not think that a tankless system needs routine service like this. Tank systems are big, sometimes fairly noisy, and a pretty apparent presence in the home, right? Alternatively, tankless systems are just a small addition to the home. But yes, they do need maintenance, and this service will be pretty close to what a storage tank needs too. Read on to learn why!
Tankless Systems Are Just as Prone to Scaling
You might be wondering, “what’s scaling?” That’s understandable—not a lot of people know what this is off of the top of their heads. Scaling is something that can impact your entire plumbing system, and your tankless water heater is no exception. It’s the buildup of mineral deposits from hard water. These minerals include calcium and magnesium, and sometimes even iron.
These minerals are harmless to ingest, however they’re not harmless to plumbing systems. What happens is these mineral deposits accumulate and cause problems due to coating the heat exchangers of the tankless system and banging around the system, leading to possible corrosion and abrasion.
You can usually detect hard water on your own. It will show up as white, chalky substance forming on your faucet and drain openings, white spots on your glassware after they’ve been in the dishwasher, or even a filmy residue on your skin after you’re done showering.
How Often Do Tankless Systems Need a Tune-Up?
This will honestly depend on the level of hard water you have in your home. The good news is, hard water can be resolved with the installation of a whole-house water softener, and our team is happy to come test your water to see if this may be a necessity.
Otherwise, tankless water heaters typically need to be maintained every 2-3 years. With hard water presence, this should be bumped to once a year, just like with a tank water heater.
“How Long Will My Tankless Water Heater Last?”
One of the biggest benefits of investing in routine tankless water heater is that it will help the system last as long as possible. The typical lifespan of a well cared for tankless system is about 15-20 years. But if you skip maintenance, you can expect it to last 10-15 years if you’re lucky.
Maintenance saves you money by preventing repairs and by protecting the overall lifespan of the system.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team with any water heater questions you may have. When it comes time to replace your system, we’ll help you decide if your household would benefit from continuing to use a tankless system, or if it would be better to go with the traditional tank water heater. Both have their pros and cons!
Contact Performance Plumbing today for expert service on water heaters in Bridgeton, MO.