Water Heater Repair: What Causes Overheating Problems In Water Heaters? | Oak Ridge, TN
Friday, December 24th, 2021
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Overheating water is not only inconvenient and annoying but also dangerous, especially if you have children. Therefore, it is important to address the issue quickly before it causes any physical harm such as scalding or the pipes bursting or leaking. To better understand the options available for such a problem, it’s important to know the most common causes of overheating problems. In the face of any issue with your water heater, it is crucial to contact a water heater repair company immediately.
Minor problems that cause overheating don’t occur suddenly; they tend to be gradual. For this reason, it is essential to get in touch with a qualified water repair expert in Oak Ridge, TN, to inspect your water heater and tank regularly. By doing so, they can nip most problems in the bud.
Common Causes of Overheating in Water Heaters
Here are factors that affect the functionality of your water heater unit, eventually leading to overheating:
Clogged Drains
A clogged drain can lead to overheating because it restricts water flow and pressure. When that happens, your water heater has to work harder to supply hot water, leading to more wear and tear over time. Clogs also affect energy efficiency because they result in higher heating costs when your heater has to work harder than usual. If you think you might have a problem with clogging, contact your water heater repair company right away to avoid overheating.
One sign that you have a clogged drain is when you hear hissing noises coming from your water heater. You might also notice that your hot water has started running cold or taking longer than usual to get warm and that your water heater is failing to keep up with demand.
Insufficient Ventilation
It’s always important to have sufficient ventilation for your water heater. Ventilation helps ensure that enough air is available for water vapor to escape from your water heater, ensuring that condensation does not build up around it. If there is insufficient ventilation, you may end up with mold or mildew growing inside your hot water tank, eventually leading to damage and reduced efficiency.
If you have inadequate ventilation, you may notice that condensation forms in your basement or crawl space. If you smell mold or mildew in these areas, it’s time to call a water heater company to investigate why it is overheating. It may be due to insufficient ventilation.
Improper Installation
If your water heater was installed incorrectly or wasn’t done by an experienced professional, it could be causing overheating problems. Call in a professional water heater repair company or replace your unit if you think it’s been installed incorrectly. Make sure whoever is working on your unit has experience dealing with these appliances because water heaters can be hazardous to work around if not appropriately handled. Ask for references and make sure they have a good reputation for doing high-quality work.
Freeze Protection Failure
A water heater is built to operate with gas or electricity and will automatically shut off if it begins to overheat. When your water heater stops working, your home will get cold. Since you need hot water to shower, wash dishes, do laundry, and more, it’s very common for homeowners to assume that there is an issue with their water heater. However, sometimes a failure of another device can cause overheating in your water heater.
Homeowners in Oak Ridge, TN, need to be aware that their water heater may not operate appropriately if another device in their home has failed. For example, if your thermostat stops working, your home won’t have any way to regulate temperature levels, and your hot water tank can overheat. Water heater repair services are always needed.
Thermostat Is Stuck On High
If your thermostat is stuck on high, it will send heat into your house at full blast. Most thermostats should automatically adjust down to medium or low if they detect too much water in contact with them. If yours doesn’t do that, you could blow a fuse, trip a circuit breaker, or worse.
If your water heater is located in an attic or another hard-to-reach spot, it’s also possible that you’re burning out your thermostat because it doesn’t have good airflow around it. You can typically get better results by installing a remote thermostat. It allows you to place it outside, where it can get plenty of air as recommended by water heater repair experts.
Another likely cause of overheating is the wearing of the parts. After several years of use, valves, pipes, thermostats, and other parts lose their efficiency. A water heater repair company will recommend replacing them with newer ones. However, this only happens after a thorough inspection of the heating system.
High Mineral Content
The water purification process doesn’t get rid of all minerals. Over time, these minerals can accumulate and sink to the bottom of the water heater or the heating element. Gas water heaters tend to work inefficiently when there is sediment. Heat will take longer to transfer from the layer of sediment to your water. In effect, the heating elements have to work harder to heat water. Even though water will eventually absorb the heat, it will cause your heater to overheat, necessitating water heater repair.
Preventative and Maintenance Procedures
To keep your water heaters running effectively, technicians need to perform routine maintenance to ensure that every part is working. Preventative maintenance procedures include:
- Testing the temperature-pressure release valve
- Checking the insulating pipes
- Draining the tank
- Adjusting the temperature
- Examining the sacrificial anode rod
Get Professional Water Heater Repair Services
At My Professional Plumber, we are the leading plumbing service in Oak Ridge, TN. Our skilled plumbers understand the importance of water systems and water heaters and go the extra mile to ensure they offer reliable solutions. We provide a range of services from drain cleaning, water heater repair to installations. On top of the excellent customer reviews we have received, we also boast of a Technician Seal of Safety that can assure you of the quality of our team and trustworthiness. Get in touch with us today for more information about our services.