Could you be running a restaurant, an apartment building or even a hotel? Have you ever been caught in a situation where your customers has no access to hot water?

Personally, I would just panic because this means no customers for the next one week or even months depending on the time you will take to sort the problem out.

Anyway, all water heaters are eventually bound to fail as is the case with any other machine. Knowing that this might eventually happen, the least you could do is to get prepared by looking out for the signs.

There are ways in which you can be able to tell if your water heater is failing and below are some of them.

1. No hot water for long

When you go to shower is your water hot or lukewarm? Do you wait for quite some time for hot water to finally come out? Well, this is usually the most common way of knowing if your water heater is failing.

Most of these standard water heaters usually contain around 30-50 gallon tank for storage. When the water is being heated, the minerals inside the water separates and then goes to settle down at the bottom of the tank.

As time goes by, these deposits increase and blocks the burner from heating the water as required hence producing warm water.

The more these deposits builds up the more it’s going to be difficult for your water to be heated and this eventually will cause your heater to fail.

2. Noises

When your heater is about to fail, you will start hearing some rumbling or popping sounds. Immediately you notice this, pick up the phone and schedule a meeting with your plumber to come and check out your water heating system.

If you are using hard water, then you are most likely going to fall a victim to this. The noise you will hear coming from your water heater is also as a result of the mineral deposits on the surface of your heater.

This sound is usually caused by the air pockets usually boiling together with your water in the tank.

3. Not clear or cloudy water

If you are able to smell some metallic scent or notice a metallic taste or even if the water coming out is a bit cloudy, just know your water heater is about to let you down.

These are signs of a failing water heater. The minerals deposits we had been talking about earlier are usually responsible for this too. They will always cloud up the hot water coming out of the taps from the storage tank.

Sometimes you will even smell some metallic odor or feel a metallic taste in the water. When the mineral deposits impact your faucets they can bring the clogging elements that in turn controls the water flow.

If you also notice some reddish or cloudy orange color in the water, this means your water heater or your pipes have develop some rust in them.

4. A faulty pressure release valve

There are some two signs you should always be keen on when we talk about pressure relief valves. These includes water not going through the valve and a leakage.

When either of these two happens, you might be forced to do more than just to replace the valve. The malfunction of the valve is usually caused by the buildup of rust, mineral salts and corrosion.

Even though it does not occur frequently, a huge damage can be caused if a safety relief valve fails thus you need to contact an expert in case of anything.

5. Leakages

If your water tank is corroded, some cracks and fractures might develop resulting to a water leak.

If there is some hot water leaking from your tank then this should be enough sign that your water heater might need some replacement. If something is not done, before you know it, you will be walking in a flooded floor and we all know how dangerous this can get right?

Conclusion

There is usually no difference when it comes to water heaters with regards to the location you might be in. A water heater used in San Diego, CA is still the same as the water heater in Houston, TX.

These points above can help you to know if your water heater’s time is almost up thus you should be prepared and take the necessary steps towards ensuring that everything is okay.

You don’t want to be losing your customers just because you don’t provide hot water services right? Be smart and watch out for the signs.

You can also extend the life of your water heater if you don’t want to be going back to the shops each and every time. Follow this link https://www.fastwaterheater.com/water-heaters/articles/5-ways-extend-water-heaters-useful-life/ to know more about this.