• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header left navigation
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • Start Here
  • Money Pit Podcast
  • Leave a Review
The Money Pit house logo

The Money Pit

Home Improvement Tips & Podcasts

  • Media Kit
  • Affiliates
  • Ask a Question
  • Spaces
    • Outdoor Living
    • Kitchens
    • Bathrooms
    • Garages & Sheds
    • Basements & Crawlspaces
    • Home Exteriors
  • Reno/Repair
    • Air Conditioning
    • Windows
    • Floors
    • Roofs & Gutters
    • Insulation
    • Lighting & Wiring
  • Popular Topics
    • Storage & Organization
    • Painting & Decorating
    • Cleaning
    • Pests & Wildlife
    • Buying or Selling a Home
  • Features
    • Green Home
    • Pet Friendly
    • Kid Spaces
    • DIY
    • Quick Tips
  • Podcasts
    • The Money Pit Home Improvement Podcast
    • Money Pit Minute Podcast
    • Your Calls, Our Answers Podcast
    • Top Products Podcast
    • ProFiles Podcast
tankless water heater

How to Maintain Your Water Heater

How to Maintain Your Water Heater

Podcasts The Money Pit Home Improvement Podcast
FacebookTweetPinLinkedInEmail
tankless water heater
Leslie Segrete & Tom Kraeutler, Hosts of The Money Pit by The Hosts Leave a Comment
  • iTunes logo
  • Google Podcasts logo
  • Spotify logo
  • Chartable logo
LESLIE: Well, when you want hot water, you walk up to your sink, your tub, your shower; you turn on the faucet and there’s the hot water. Until that day you turn that faucet and it is just not there. Well, that’s probably the only moment that you actually stop to think about your water heater. Well, it turns out you need to think about it a little bit more than at that moment.
 
How to Maintain Your Water HeaterTOM: That’s right. A little maintenance of your water heater is the only way it will last year after year. Here to tell us exactly what to do is This Old House host Kevin O’Connor and the program’s plumbing expert, Richard Trethewey.
 
Welcome, guys. Where do we begin?
 
KEVIN: If you have a tank-type water heater – maybe one that’s 40, 60 or even 80 gallons big – you probably don’t think about it much but these appliances are working in our houses every, single day; so they do require some regular maintenance to keep them running.
 
So Richard, what should we be thinking about?
 
RICHARD: Well, most people do absolutely no maintenance on a water heater and that’s a big reason why they fail on average of every seven to ten years. Probably the best thing you can do is to flush sediment out of the tank every year. There’s a little drain down at the bottom of the water heater and that’s the place where any sediment will collect and you can flush that into a bucket.
 
Now you also have a sacrificial anode inside of any water heater and that should be changed every two to five years, depending on water quality in the area. And on electric water heaters, you may need to actually change the heating elements to improve their efficiency.
 
KEVIN: And how about regular maintenance? Is that going to help extend the life of the heater?
 
RICHARD: Absolutely. Some people have kept their water heaters running for 15 to 20 years and they’ll operate more efficiently.
 
KEVIN: Alright. Well, to see a video of how to maintain a water heater, including a cross-section of the inside of a tank, visit us at ThisOldHouse.com.
 
TOM: Richard, what do you think about the pressure-and-temperature valve? Do you think you ought to open that up and clean that out occasionally or is that kind of opening a Pandora’s box?
 
RICHARD: Absolutely, Tom. If you lift that little lever on the TMP, there’s a good chance it’s going to not seal again, so I wouldn’t touch that unless you had to.
 
TOM: (chuckles) So for that, leave well enough alone.
 
Richard Trethewey, Kevin O’Connor, thanks for stopping by The Money Pit.
 
KEVIN: Great to be here.
 
LESLIE: Good tips.
 
Hey, if you water heater is actually getting near the end of its lifespan, there’s never been a better time for replacement. There are federal tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements and they are still up for grabs.
 
TOM: Good point.
 
For more tips from the team at This Old House, you can watch This Old House plus Ask This Old House on your local PBS station, sponsored by Stanley. Stanley is a proud sponsor of Ask This Old House. Stanley – make something great.
Podcasts The Money Pit Home Improvement Podcast

Related Posts

Water heater replacement needed due to leaking.

How to Avoid Water Heater Replacement: Tips for Water Heater Maintenance

tankless water heater

Best Water Heater Types & Options for Energy Efficiency

How to prolong water heater's life

How to Make Your Tank Water Heater More Efficient

Fall home improvement projects

September Weekend Projects: Tips on Preparing for the Fall

Fall home improvement projects

September Weekend Projects: Easy Fall Fixups!

direct vent tankless water heater

Need a New Water Heater? Make It Green

Related Podcasts

direct vent tankless water heater

How to Choose a Tankless Water Heater

maintain an electric water heater

How to Maintain and Electric Water Heater

refrigerator water filter maintenance

Water Filters

How to Fix Smelly Water

breathe easy

How to Choose a Humidifer

The Money Pit Podcast

How to Install an Under Sink Water Filter

FacebookTweetPinLinkedInEmail

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sidebar

Trending Posts

Get Ready for the Game with The Money Pit’s $1,000 Tailgate Treasures Sweepstakes!

Attic flooring added to increase storage space

How to Floor Your Attic for Storage Without Wrecking Your Roof

Best Garage Floor: Tiles, Mat or Paint?

Garage Heater Dyna-Glo 30,000 BTU Natural Gas Blue Flame Vent Free Wall Heater, White

Best Heaters for a Garage: Forced Air, Infrared or Portable?

How to Get Rid of Thousand-Leggers Without Getting Grossed Out

Ask Us Anything

Ask A Question

Favorite Posts

Attic flooring added to increase storage space

How to Floor Your Attic for Storage Without Wrecking Your Roof

How to Get Rid of Thousand-Leggers Without Getting Grossed Out

Best Garage Floor: Tiles, Mat or Paint?

Dryer vent on outside of building

Controlling Dryer Lint Outside | Video

Popular Podcasts

Repair Crumbling Cinder Block

Electric Meter

Service Entry Cable and Electric Meter: Who is responsible for repair?

dirt to use around house foundation

Type of Dirt to Use Around House Foundation

What Smells Like Burning Rubber in My Home?

Newsletter

Get weekly updates with the latest tips and tricks to save money in your home.

As Us Anything

Ask A Question

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • About
  • Media Kit
  • Partners
  • Posts
  • Endorsement Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy & Solution
  • Radio Stations

Copyright © 2001–2023 · The Money Pit · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme

Ask A Question