Your water heater is one of the most important technologies in your home. Without it, you are left to live in a way our ancestors did during the ages without indoor heated plumbing! Everything from your mentality, skin, laundry, and dishes are better treated with hot water. For these reasons and more, it is important to provide your water heater with proper maintenance and care. By understanding your water heater, especially the facts surrounding repair and replacement, you can improve your household’s energy efficiency and cost savings exponentially, for years to come.

Continue reading to learn the vital facts you need to know if you are having trouble with your water heater.

Deciding Between Repair and Replacement

All things man-made are capable of breaking, and your water heater is no different. Even with the best upkeep, it may experience issues at some point in time. If it does, you have to make the educated decision between having it repaired and replacing it altogether. To help you with this decision, you’ll need the assistance of a licensed plumbing contractor who specializes in water heater service. They have the knowledge and resources to provide accurate diagnostics of your water heater, regardless of make or model. They can make professional recommendations that fit your home’s best interests, as well as your budget.

The General Rule of Thumb for Water Heaters

So what will your plumbing technician likely tell you? Water heaters are not designed to last forever. So as they get older, they get closer to their expiration date. Once a water heater has reached a certain age range, it is better off replaced than repaired in terms of cost.

The general rule of thumb adhered to by most water heater professionals is the “8 to 10 year” rule. If a water heater is older than 8 years, and it is experiencing operational issues, it is likely more cost-effective to replace it than it would be to repair it. Not only is this the more cost-effective choice, it is the safer choice. When a water heater is this old, problems can be repaired, but they are likely to continue and get worse as the unit continues to age. It is more beneficial to invest in a new water heater rather than to waste more money repairing an old one.

New Water Heaters

If your water heater is fairly new and problems occur, repair is the most effectual option. In this case, it is likely a water heater is still under warranty, which means the cost to repair any issues is fully or partially covered by the manufacturer or retailer you purchased it from. You may have to pay partially under warranty if the warranty only covers replacement parts; so you would be responsible to cover labor costs. Fortunately, labor costs are not usually extreme among plumbing and water heater contractors.

New Water Heater Replacement

Sometimes, new water heaters cannot be repaired, and must be replaced instead. For instance, if the storage tank is somehow damaged to the point that is causes the water heater to malfunction, you would need to replace the entire water heater as a whole. Most parts of a water heater are replaceable, but not all.

Indianapolis Water Heater Repair

Call Weilhammer Plumbing Co. Inc. at 317-784-1870 for affordable water heater repair in Indianapolis and its surrounding areas. Master plumber, Mark Weilhammer, has more than 50 years of experience in the plumbing industry and knows just how to solve your meet your water heater problems. Call 317-784-1870 to request a free estimate for Indianapolis water heater repair, today!