Are people in your house starting to fight over who gets to shower first in the morning because the hot water has started to run out early? This is one of the first signs of a water heater that’s struggling to meet its normal capacity demands. This isn’t a problem you should ignore, since it often warns of a growing malfunction that can end up leaving you with a broken water heater and no hot water at all!
We offer professional water heater repair in Fairfax, VA to rescue faulty water heaters. We also handle replacing water heaters when repairs are too expensive or won’t deliver a long-term solution to the problem. Below are some of the possible reasons your water heater isn’t meeting your household’s customary hot water demands.
The water heater is too old
No water heater can run forever. The standard storage tank water heater has a service life of approximately 12 years. No matter how well-maintained your water heater is, it will reach a point where it’s too old to run at its full capacity. Repairs can do some patch-up work on an old water heater, but compounding troubles from age and dropping energy efficiency rarely make them worth it. Our technicians will give you an honest assessment of your water heater and inform you when it is better to have a new unit installed.
Gas burner problems
If you use a gas-powered water heater (which is the most common type), then a drop in hot water volume could be due to problems with the gas burners. The burners may not be staying on long enough and shutting off early so the water isn’t heating up enough. This is often because of issues with gas flow or dirt along the burners. Always leave work with a gas-powered system to a licensed professional.
Broken dip tube
The dip tube is the tube that carries cold water down through the tank of the water heater to the bottom of the tank where it’s heated through the heat exchanger. If this tube breaks, it will deposit cold water at the top of the tank, lowering the temperature of the water that gets drawn from the tank and sent to the taps. A professional will need to replace the dip tube to solve this problem.
Sediment build-up
Sediment will start to collect inside a water heater tank and accumulate over time, especially if a home has hard water. This sediment layer along the bottom of the tank restricts the ability of the heat exchanger to heat water in the tank and will drop the hot water volume. Technicians can solve this problem with a tank flush.
Broken heating element
If you have an electric water heater, then the issue may be that the lower of the two heating elements inside the tank has burnt out. This lower element heats up the water so it rises to the top of the tank, where the upper element keeps it at the appropriate temperature. If the lower element stops working, the general volume of hot water available will decline.
There are other possibilities, and you can trust our team to quickly find the problem and offer the right solution.
Rely on B&B Air Conditioning & Heating Service when you need water heater service. We are always there when you need us.
