Your Quick Guide to Tankless Water Heater Maintenance

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⭐ Your Guide to Tankless Water Heater Maintenance

Tankless water heaters are best known for providing an endless hot water supply in your home, but not if you ignore maintenance. Keeping your tankless hot water heater in good working order is essential to keep the flow of hot water for those awesome showers you love so much, especially in winter.

Routine maintenance is a must to keep your home appliances in great shape.

For example, tankless water heaters with the proper maintenance schedule can keep producing hot water for up to twenty years or more. There are a few key things homeowners can do without the help of a water heater professional.

Hopefully, we can help you ensure your tankless heater stays repair-free with the following cleaning process.

⭐ Benefits of Properly Maintaining your Tankless Hot Water Heater

With the right maintenance plan, you can expect the following from your tankless hot water heater:

🛠️ Long Lifespan:

A tankless water heater, based on its construction and not having a tank, can expect to last 20 years or more.

This is compared to 10 to 12 years for a hot water heater with a storage tank.

Simple maintenance can help prolong the life of your heater.

🛠️ Optimal Performance:

Like your other appliances, maintaining your tankless water heater to a high standard ensures that your heater keeps pumping out hot water while maintaining a high flow rate without increasing your gas bill.

🛠️ Reducing the Risk of Premature Failure:

Calcified deposits like those caused by calcium and magnesium can cause irreparable damage to your heater.

Without a proper maintenance plan, these deposits can build up and damage the heat exchanger, which may require an expensive replacement.

How often you flush out your water system is highly dependent on the water hardness of your area.

In addition, a manufacturer’s warranty may not cover any damage caused due to a lack of maintenance.

Hence why it’s in your best interest to maintain it correctly.

Fitting a water softener into your home can help reduce problems caused by hard water.

⭐ Tankless Water Heater Maintenance Checklist

🧰 Cleaning the Air Filter

Your tankless water heater needs a fresh supply of air to function correctly.

So they are fitted with an air filter just like your AC.

All tankless units are designed differently.

Also, your filter may not be in the same spot as other heaters. Identify the air inlet pipe, and you will find the filter nearby.

This basic screen air filter can be rinsed with soapy water. Make sure it’s dry before reinstalling.

🧰 Cleaning the Water Filter

Nearly all tankless water heaters are fitted with a water filter.

This traps any larger sediment coming from your water supply. If this builds up, it can significantly restrict the function of your heater.

All you need to do is locate your filter (it will be near the inlet cold water side) and remove it.

Usually, it will just need to rinse under water to clean out any sediment.

✅ PRO TIP: Most tankless water heaters are built slightly differently. If you can’t identify what we are talking about, refer to the user manual.

🧰 Cleaning Out the Dirt Trap

Use the same process as per the water filter.

This is located underneath the tankless water heater with the other connections.

Remove the trap and clean it out.

This does not contain a filter and is just a trap for gunk and other stuff in your heater.

Before replacing, ensure you correctly seat the O-ring fitted to the trap.

🧰 Flushing Your Hot Water System

Your should have your tankless water heater flushed at least once a year.

Maybe more if you live in an area with hard water.

During regular use, mineral deposits and sediment collect inside the water heater.

These types of buildups can damage the heating elements (aka heat exchanger).

This typically means that the unit’s energy efficiency will drop, and you will pay more through your utility bill.

🧰 How To Flush Your Tankless Water Heater

Tools:

• A submersible water pump, (also known as a sump pump). ¼ Horsepower or below will suffice. Anything more significant can damage your water system
• 1 x five-gallon bucket. (This is 18.9 liters which isn’t a bucket size, so let’s just go with 20 liters)
• 2 x sections of garden hose with the appropriate fittings. ( you can find all of this in your local hardware store. Be sure to check out the thread sizes first).
• Or you could just purchase a tankless water heater flush kit! See our reccommendation below.

Materials: 3 gallons of white distilled vinegar. (11.5 liters for our metric friends). You can buy a descaling solution but we find undiluted white vinegar works just as well.

✅ PRO TIP: Before powering up your tankless water heater, complete all the other maintenance tasks while the water, gas, or power is off.

⭐ Prefer to Watch a Video?

⭐ Summary

Hopefully, we have clearly explained the tankless water heater maintenance process to motivate you to carry out these simple money-saving tasks.

Then, if you feel uncomfortable with conducting maintenance at any time, call your local plumber to finish the service.

A service fee is a small price to pay instead of damaging the tankless system or hurting yourself.

If you are interested in the performance of having endless hot water from your tankless hot water heater as well as saving money, live in the Central or North Okanagan region, and what to know more about maintaining or installing new tankless hot water heaters, call Phyxter Home Services.

Want to learn more about your home’s plumbing system? Feel free to check out our other plumbing articles!

Related Reading:

• DIY Guide to 15 Common Plumbing Problems & Solutions
• Fix Your No Hot Water Problem Like an Expert!