We may need to get a new water heater soon.

Spyros was in the basement and noticed quite a bit of water around the heater. This could be because it got more use these past few days. (Had house guests) or that it's 10 years old and wants to be replaced.

A few things that you can do to help promote the life of your water heater.

1. Open up the release valve every 6 months and let the water out. Make sure to wear shoes, have a container to catch the water (not too much should come out), and be Very Careful since this is Very Hot water.

2. Drain about 5 gallons out of the tank every year to help with the sediment deposits.

3. Replace your anodes. An anode is a magnesium or aluminum rod that is inside your water tank that corrodes before the tank does, to help prolong the life of the water heater. (A new one costs between $15 - $30 or so.) The anodes must be replaced before they are too far corroded to be of any help in prolonging the life of the heater.

All 3 of these things are very easy to do. Consult your manual, go to a hardware store and have them show you, or check out this site.

WaterHeaterRescue

Check out the Water Heater 101 on the site, and there's a section called Know How that tells you about replacing anodes. I found the whole site very informative, and suggest you take a look at it all.

We are also looking into getting a Tankless Water Heater. They are a bit more expensive, but have the potential to last a very long time. Plus they are made of mostly environment friendly materials, so the landfills will be better off.

Tankless Water Heaters have been around for about 75 years or so in other countries, but unfortunately the United States is not up to speed with items that are environment friendly.

Check out this site to learn more about Tankless Water Heaters.

ClickHere