A tankless hot water heater can provide you with years of enjoyment rather economically; however, these units do need some maintenance on them from time to time. The website wikiHOWrecommends taking the following steps when maintaining and cleaning your water heater in Houston so that it will last as long as possible without needing repairs.
Before you get started, you’ll need to turn off the power source to your water heater. If it’s an electric model, this can be done by flipping the circuit breaker to the “off” position, but if it is a gas-powered one, you’ll need to shut off the gas supply coming into your house. Once the power is disconnected, you can then close the three water valves that are attached to your tankless water heater.
Purge port valves are located on either side of the hot and cold water valves on your unit. Remove their valve caps very slowly in order to eliminate any pressure that has built up inside your tankless hot water heater, and then attach a hosing line to each one of these three valves. The other end of these hoses should be placed inside of a five-gallon bucket.
Pour around 2 1/2 gallons of white vinegar into the tank of your water heater and allow it to sit for between 15 and 30 minutes in order to loosen up any hard deposits. After that time, you will need to flush the tank with some distilled water until any deposit are completely eliminated from it. This process can take up to 45 minutes in some cases.
Once your tankless hot water heater has been thoroughly flushed, you may loosen the port purge valves up again and then remove the hoses from them. After placing the caps back onto these valves, you will then be ready to start your unit back up again. The exact method of doing this will vary from one piece of equipment to the next, so you should consult your owner’s manual or contact the manufacturer directly if you have any questions about doing this.
This process may need to be performed once or twice a year depending on the quality of your water supply and the amount of water this unit heats on a regular basis. Aside from regular cleaning, This Old House claims that relatively little maintenance is needed in order to operate a tankless hot water heater efficiently.
Cleaning a tankless water heater is easy, but repairing and installing this equipment can be a bit tricky. Rather than struggle with these tasks yourself, you can always contact Southern Plumbing for service and repair in the Bellaire, Texas area.
