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If you’ve recently made the switch to tankless water heating, you know there are a lot of benefits that coincide. For starters, you enjoy virtually endless hot water. Tankless water heaters also improve your energy efficiency, delivering potential savings of up to 40% on monthly energy costs. That counts for a lot these days!
Tankless water heaters can also last longer than their tank-style, water-storing counterparts—but to ensure longevity and sustained performance, they require regular maintenance. The good news is that it’s easy to do. Let’s bring you through the basics:
For the most part, all you need to do is flush the system once a year—although if you have very hard water, you may need to do it twice a year. The point is to remove scale buildup in the system. Scale can accumulate more quickly in tankless units and will affect performance if unchecked. Some units—like those from Rinnai—will even remind you when it’s time to perform maintenance!
Most systems have flush kits installed that enable you to run a vinegar solution through the unit in a loop. It’s not hard to do yourself, if you feel handy, and manufacturers provide instructions, or you can have your local plumber or HVAC company, like us, to perform the task.
Hard water is hard on your water heating system. Hard water is water that has a high mineral content—particularly calcium. If you feel like you need to rinse your hands for a long time to get the soap off, you probably have hard water. Hard water will also leave glasses looking spotty, and your skin feeling dry.
It’s easy to treat your water. A water-softening system will filter out the excess minerals and replace them with ions of sodium, in a process called ion exchange.
By removing the minerals that cause scale buildup, you’ll reap many benefits. Your pipes, showerheads, and faucets will last longer, as will your water heating system and appliances like dishwashers and washing machines. Plus, your skin will feel better, your laundry will look cleaner, and you’ll eliminate water spots on glasses.
Whether or not you chose to soften your water, you shouldn’t skip regular maintenance on your tankless unit. If you want to do it yourself, it’s easy, and only takes about two hours—with only about a half-hour of hands-on time. And skipping maintenance will cost you a lot more. If scale starts to accumulate in your plumbing and fittings, it’s much harder to repair. And replacing your tankless water heater is a lot more expensive than performing a routine system flush.
When you consider that water heating is such a big part of a home’s energy costs—bathing, laundry, and dishwashing can add up—investing in an efficient propane water heater is a smart way to reduce those costs while enjoying more hot water. Protecting that investment is a smart move, too!
The pros at Pemi River Fuels can walk you through your options for a more efficient water heating system, and make sure it’s installed correctly for maximum efficiency and performance. Contact us today for more information.