Water Heater Warning Signs: How to Tell Yours Is Failing

What your water heater actually does

Your water heater has one job: heat the water you use for showers, sinks, laundry and the dishwasher, and keep it ready. Most of them sit in a garage or closet and work quietly for years, so it is easy to forget they are there until the hot water gets unreliable.

The good news is that a heater rarely quits without warning. It usually gives you signals for a while first. Learning to read those signals lets you plan a repair instead of waking up to a cold shower or a puddle on the floor.

Warning signs a homeowner can spot

• Rumbling, popping or crackling sounds while it heats. That noise usually means sediment and mineral scale have settled in the bottom of the tank, and the burner is working through that layer.
• Rusty, cloudy or discolored hot water. If the cold water runs clear but the hot water looks tinted or murky, it can point to rust or buildup inside the tank rather than in your pipes.
• Water pooling or dampness around the base. Any standing water, drips or corrosion near the bottom of the unit is worth checking right away, because small leaks tend to get worse, not better.
• Running out of hot water faster than you used to. As scale and sediment build up, they take up room that used to hold hot water, so the same shower can turn cold sooner.
• Age. Older units are simply more likely to develop these problems. If you do not know how old yours is, that alone is a good reason to have it looked at before it fails.

Why Las Vegas water heaters fail sooner

Las Vegas tap water runs about 16 grains per gallon (roughly 278 ppm), which the Las Vegas Valley Water District puts among the hardest major municipal supplies in the country, more than twice the national average. That is the honest local reason equipment here wears out faster than the same equipment would somewhere with softer water.

Hard water is hard on heaters specifically because of heat. As the U.S. Geological Survey puts it, "When hard water is heated, such as in a home water heater, solid deposits of calcium carbonate can form." Those deposits are the scale you hear rumbling in the tank. It coats the inside of the heater, restricts flow, and shortens the life of the equipment, and in a supply as hard as ours it piles up faster than in most of the country.

What helps

The main thing you can do is have the tank flushed periodically to clear out the sediment before it hardens into a thick layer. In hard-water areas this maintenance matters more, not less, because the scale that builds up is exactly what shortens the heater's life.

Flushing does not undo damage that is already done, and it will not turn an old, corroded tank into a new one. But keeping ahead of the sediment is a reasonable, low-drama way to get more good years out of the heater you have.

When to call a licensed pro

Some signs are worth a call sooner rather than later: water pooling around the base, hot water that stays discolored, or losing hot water entirely. Those are the ones that tend to become a bigger mess if you wait. Water Heater Repair is one of the services we handle, and a fast-moving leak is what our Emergency Plumber service is for.

Whoever you call, it is fair to ask for a license number. Plumbing work in Nevada falls under the C-1 classification, and you can check any contractor's number against the Nevada State Contractors Board's public register before you hire. Vegas Plumbing Co is licensed for plumbing in Nevada and the areas we serve.

Spotted the signs?

If your heater is showing any of these, you do not have to guess. Vegas Plumbing Co offers Water Heater Repair in Las Vegas and nearby areas including Henderson, North Las Vegas, Paradise, Spring Valley, Enterprise and Sunrise Manor.

We are licensed for plumbing in Nevada and the areas we serve. If you want a look before something breaks, call (702) 577-0365.