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Everything You Need to Know About Tankless Water Heater Maintenance

About 90% of people wait until there’s an emergency to install a new water heater or repair a broken one. Doing this puts you at a disadvantage when negotiating with a contractor to fix the problem urgently. Plus, you’ll suffer the inconvenience of not getting hot water when you need it. You can avoid these inconveniences if you know how to maintain a tankless water heater.

Common Problems with Tankless Water Heaters

Tankless water heaters provide hot water on demand. They use electricity or gas to heat water rapidly without storing it in a storage tank. If you live in an area with hard water, your tankless heater will have a scaling problem.

Hard water has a high content of minerals, including magnesium, calcium, and sometimes iron. As the water passes through the heat exchanger, the minerals form a coat on the plumbing appliances. With time, minerals build up and create a scale, which reduces the heater’s efficiency.

You need regular maintenance to remove the scaling. If you don’t clean the water heater, it can start overworking and eventually break down. So how do you maintain a tankless water heater? Here’s how.

How to Clean Your Tankless Water Heater

The cleaning frequency of tankless water heaters depends on the quality of water in your area. It also depends on the number of people living in the same house. It is always recommended to speak to a professional, but if you are the DIY type here is some cleaning you can try on your own.

Generally, if you have hard water and use your tankless water heater more frequently, you should clean it every year. But if the water has less mineral content, cleaning once in two years would be enough. So, here’show to service a tankless water heater.

You need to have the following items:

• Standard washer and dryer hose pipes
• 3 or 4 gallons of distilled white vinegar
• Submersible water pump
• 5-gallon bucket

Here’s the procedure for cleaning your tankless water heater:

• Check if your water heater has flush kit valves. If present, open them and let any water in the heater drain. If flush valves are not present, you can’t clean your heater. Call a professional to help you.
• Turn off the gas valve but leave on the power.
• Turn off the two valves for cold water input and hot water output. 
• Pour white vinegar into the bucket and submerge the pump into it.
• Connect the hose pipes from the pump to the heater. The connection should allow the vinegar to circulate from the bucket to the heater. Let it circulate for about an hour in one direction, then reverse it to go the opposite direction.

Since white vinegar is a corrosive liquid, it will remove scaling as it circulates inside the water heater. After running the vinegar, clean the pre-filter to remove any clogs that may build up during cleaning. Pop the filter out, clean it in a bucket of clean water, then put it back. A tankless water heater can last you over 20 years if you maintain it well. But eventually, you’ll need to replace it. Your best bet? Speak to the pros at Handy Bros.

Let’s Help You Out

Do you have any questions on how to flush a tankless water heater? Reach out to us. If you need our support with the water heater or HVAC maintenance, contact us, and we’ll be glad to help.