Water Heater Maintenance

Very few people know that in order to keep your water heater running properly and efficiently very simple maintenance procedures need to be performed. (These come with the instructions and are often overlooked.) 

As water is pumped into your water heater tank dirt, sediment and various minerals settle on the bottom. Depending on your water quality these extra "ingredients" can add up rather quickly robbing your water heater's efficiency and costing you in the long run. If left unchecked they can not only make your water heater work harder but also allow your tank to rust and slowly be eaten away until you need to replace the entire unit which is very costly yet easily preventable. And cheap to prevent! You just need a hose, bucket (optional) and gloves (optional too, but safer with.) 

We will show you how to perform a simple yearly draining of your water heater to keep it running smoothly.

First off, you need to know where your water heater is. This should be very simple. It should be located in your garage. 

Be careful! You are going to be dealing with gas/electricity and very hot water and steam.

This should be simple enough. Look around the tank itself and read any warnings and labels. If you can't determine one sure fire indication is if there is a pilot light odds are it's gas. Mine is gas operated. 

Note: Read the instruction on the tank for turning off the gas and or electricity. Don't just do it unless you know what you are doing.

The water shut off valve is located on the top of the water heater. It typically looks like the circular water valves used for front and back yards. 

The pressure release valve is located on the top as well. It should have labeling near it. There is piping that leads out of the water heater and near the drain. Make sure it is not obstructed. This is very important. 

The water drain is located on the bottom. It is usually a simple spout that has threads so that a hose can be attached. (These threads will be needed for later.)

Now that you know where your water heater is and what it operates with (gas or electric) you are ready to perform it's yearly maintenance. Be sure to turn off the gas to the water heater (if gas) or shut off the circuit breaker if electric. (Again, read instructions carefully.) I did this the night before. This saves the energy it takes to warm the water that you will soon be draining. No need to heat water you won't be using. 

Get a hose. 

Get a bucket. 

Get some gloves to protect you from possible hot steam and or water. 

Turn off the water to the water heater and attach the hose to the water drain.

Next you will want to turn on the water drain to release the water from the water heater tank. 

The water will drain from the hose and then slowly stop. This is because the pressure release valve needs to be opened to allow air into the tank. A vacuum has been formed and no additional water will be drained from the tank until the vacuum is opened up and removed. 

Don't worry if the water is a little dirty as first. That is from all the dirt and sediment that has built up. This is the reason why you are draining it. Get all that stuff out! 

Wait 10 - 30 minutes to allow all the water to drain.

Turn off the water drain and remove the hose. 

Take the bucket and place below the water drain. 

With pressure valve still open turn on the water to the water tank and then turn on the water drain to allow the rest of the sediment to be flushed out. Allow a few gallons worth of water to drain. Be sure to check the water draining out and make sure it is clear. If it is then you are set to refill the tank.

Make sure the water drain at the base of the tank is turned off. 

Close the pressure release valve. 

Turn on the water to allow the tank to be filled. 

Once the tank is full you can turn the gas or circuit breaker back on. Caution: Do not turn the heating unit on until the tank is full. If the tank is not full it can cause heating damage to the unit. 

Sit back, relax, and enjoy your nice hot water that will be flowing and heating you more efficiently. You got a full year to wait and perform this maintenance again. 

If you want you can drain a few gallons a month from your tank especially if you live an an area with a lot of sediment in your water. You don't need the hose. Just use the bucket for this month to month maintenance. 

If you experience any leaks in the water valves or pressure valves be sure that they are tightened correctly. There is a packing nut just below the knob that can be tightened if needed. If the leaking persists then there is a good chance they haven't been used enough and need to be replaced. So be sure to perform this routine maintenance to keep the valve working properly as well!

All information for this about water heater maintenance blog was taken from theoneandonlymrP

Sump Pumps

Sump Pumps – Don’t Make These 3 Mistakes

There is an old adage about basements: “There are those that are wet, and those that are going to be wet.”

Translation: Your basement WILL get wet eventually. There is a difference between wet and under water though.

One way of preventing the latter is a sump pump. Depending on a variety of things: where you live, your area’s water table level, the age of your home, you may or may not have a sump pump. Here in the St. Louis area sump pumps are becoming pretty standard operating procedure.

Your sump pump pit, if designed properly, collects all the excess water surrounding your house.

Some water will always sit in this pit, but when the water level gets to a designed threshold, your sump pump springs into action, and pumps the water out away from your house, keeping your basement dry!

Luckily, I don’t have a lot of first hand experience with sump pumps, as I’ve never had one fail on me (cross my fingers, knock on wood, open an umbrella indoors… wait, what?), but I want to outline how critical they can be with a sidebar story.

SUMP PUMPS MISTAKE #1 : LOST POWER!

Sump pumps run on this fancy form of power called electricity! 

Usually, when your sump pump needs to be running is during heavy rainfalls. Often that rainfall is accompanied by other weather phenomenon, namely lightning and wind.

Lightning and wind like to knock out power and when that power is the same power running your sump pump, what do you think happens?

Spoiler Alert – Your sump pump stops working when you need it to be working the most. How can you avoid this?

SUMP PUMPS BATTERY BACKUP

Battery backup pumps kick on when your primary source of power is killed. They typically run on a 12-volt deep cycle marine battery. An electric charger keeps the backup fully charged and ready to spring into action. They cost between $300-$500 and can be installed relatively easily, or so I’m told. A couple common sense tips…

– Don’t install the battery on the floor. Use a plastic case and/or build a stand or wall mount. It’d be a shame if power went out, your sump overflowed and the overflow fried your backup battery, wouldn’t it?

– Make sure the outlet for your primary system is mounted near your system and well above floor level. Don’t run extension cords from a sump pump motor to an outlet across the basement. Same rationale as common sense tip #1.

SUMP PUMPS MISTAKE #2: NOT TESTING YOUR SYSTEM

I’d say there are 3 levels of need for sump pumps.

Level 1 – Homes where drainage is poor and sump pumps run constantly, even with little to no rain. In these homes, it is absolutely critical to keep your sump pumps well maintained. Testing is probably not needed because it’s going off every couple of days. You should keep a spare pump in your home for quick replacement in the event of a failure.

Level 2 is probably the ideally designed system in which more often than not, your sump pump isn’t “normally” running. Your sump pump will kick on during heavy rains for a brief period and right back off. These will require occasional testing to ensure proper performance.

Level 3 is thankfully where I reside – I’ve never heard my pump go off even during our week long Forest Gump rainfall marathon. I suppose I can thank the city of St. Charles for excellent civil engineering (or dumb luck). If you are like me though, you’ll want to test your system at LEAST annually to make sure your pump is still working for the rare instance you really need it.

How to test your system

Simple! Pour water in! Get yourself a 5 gallon bucket of water, and slowly (about the rate rain water might enter) pour the water in until the float triggers your pump to activate. At this point you are hopefully watching the water level drop, and successfully shut back off when your float drops back below the shutoff level. If that’s not what happens, troubleshoot and repair/replace as needed.

SUMP PUMP MISTAKE #3 : BAD DISCHARGE PIPE

Had a  buddy at work who walked into his basement to find his floating floor… floating.

The root cause – his discharge pipe.

It leaves his house, makes a right angle into the ground, then another right angle to travel away from his house. The right angle below ground had broken. He thinks this was due to tree roots and has now resolved the problem but it was a difficult one to diagnose as you can imagine.

His pump, meanwhile, is in quite a predicament, trying to combat both the natural water flow, plus the backflow of everything its already pumped.Ultimately it couldn’t keep up. Basement flooding ensued.

Luckily his basement wasn’t fully finished so casualties were minimal. 

Moral of the story – inspect your discharge pipes as well. Most people have a simple piece of PVC sticking out the side of their house. Some have additional tubes running away from their home. Others like my buddy, have underground lines. Whatever your design, ensure they are working properly.