It’s commonly known that leaking pipes, pipe bursts, floods, and sewage water can cause water damage. However, do you know that even home appliances like dishwashers and water heaters can cause significant residential water damage? In fact, they’re responsible for more water damage accidents than you might think. Moreover, you have to pay thousands of dollars to restore a water heater, including repairing or replacing it.

Here are some tips to prevent a leaking water heater from flooding your house.

Drain the Tank Annually

Do you know that draining and flushing your water heater tank annually is necessary? This is because the minerals present in the water create sediment at your tank’s bottom, insulating the liquid from the burner. As a result, the burner has to burn hotter and for longer to heat the water properly. This prolonged and extreme heat can damage the tank’s structure. With a damaged structure, your water heater and tank can explode anytime.

We recommend performing a simple drain and flush process once every year to remove the sediment and restore the water heater tank. Turn off the electric supply and the hot water valve to allow the water to cool down. Next, use a garden hose to drain the water. Ensure that the sediment layer is removed before opening the water supply valve again.

Check the Anode Rod Regularly

One of the worst parts about water heaters is that their metal structure forces them to rust, causing leaks and water damage. However, water heaters use a metal anode rod to prevent the water heater from rusting. Therefore, you should check the anode rod once every year. If the rod is completely rusted, the water heater tank might rust too! Replace the anode rod if it has completely deteriorated.

Use the Temperature and Pressure Valve

The temperature and pressure valve in a water heater minimizes pressure buildup in the tank by turning on automatically when it notices the pressure and temperature increase to dangerous levels. However, these valves can fail sometimes, so you should check the valve every couple of months to ensure it’s working fine.

Despite taking these measures, a residential water damage situation from a water heater can occur! At Mustache Mitigation, we offer residential water damage restoration in Monroe, GA, to handle water damage repair of appliances like water heaters alongside.

Book an appointment with us to get affordable, insurance-friendly water damage restoration services in Monroe.