Many times when the water heater in a home goes out, the homeowner will be able to do some basic troubleshooting on the unit. He can generally check that the pilot light is lit on a gas unit or that the unit is getting power if it is an electric unit. He or she can often check the thermostat setting as well to make sure it is still at a high enough number to produce hot water. However, if all of these checks turn up nothing that needs adjusting, most homeowners will need to contact a Plumbing Repair in Saginaw, TX for further assistance.
When a repair person begins an inspection of the unit, he will generally check on some easy to repair items that can often cause the unit to stop producing hot water. This can include the pilot control valve and thermocouples on a gas unit or the heating element on an electric unit. If these components are not the problem, it may be that the unit needs to be flushed.
Most water heating units tend to accumulate sediment in the bottom of the unit. This can hinder their ability to heat water. To correct this, the unit should be flushed with clean water every two years. A repair person will often try this to see if it is the cause of the water heater not working properly. Flushing a unit involves draining the water from the unit and then refilling it with clean water. This is then allowed to drain and the process it repeated unit the water draining from the unit is clear.
Should this not correct the problem, most Plumbing Repair persons will recommend that the homeowner purchase a new unit. While there are other steps that can be taken to repair the unit, they generally are a bit more costly and often buying a new unit is the better solution.
Most water heaters do not last much longer than ten years. Once they get past this age, they can start to have serious issues and trying to repair all of these problems will cost much more than a new unit. In addition, newer units are generally designed to be more energy efficient and this can help the homeowner in saving extra money, which can be a great benefit.
