As one of the most important components in your home, an efficient plumbing system is essential. In order to ensure this efficiency, proper maintenance for your plumbing is an absolute must. After all, nothing is worse than a sudden breakdown or malfunction, leaving you with water damage to your home or without water entirely. For peace of mind, rely on our trained Charlotte NC plumbers at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing to provide your home with vital plumbing maintenance.

As any homeowner can attest, it is best to catch small problems before they become large ones. It is far easier to put a stop to something when it has just started, rather than when it has gone too far. With an inspection of your home and plumbing system, you can rest assured that a small leak will not grow larger, resulting in extensive and costly damage to your home.

For all your plumbing needs, it is important to count on a professional plumber to take care of them. Our professional plumbers can utilize their years of experience and knowledge of the intricacies of your system to effectively locate, diagnose, and alleviate your plumbing issue. With a professional inspection and plumbing maintenance program, however, we can catch problems before they persist, saving you the worry of a complete plumbing breakdown or having to replace your system entirely.

With any questions, comments, or to schedule an essential plumbing maintenance service today, give us a call at 704-461-1700 or visit us online today.

Whether you are thinking about remodeling or making some changes to improve energy efficiency in your Charlotte home there are some things you should know about instant (or tankless) water heaters.  Whether you are interested in conserving water, saving energy, or you just want to save some money, these water heating devices might fit the bill.

Depending on your needs and the amount of hot water you use in a day, you might want to think about either a whole-house tank-less water heater or about instant water heating units in strategic places in your house.  These units are compact, efficient and affordable.

Here are the main things you should know about these water heating devices:

1.  Tankless water heaters produce hot water by heating an element that then heats the water as it passes across the element on its way to the tap.

2.  The name “tankless” comes from the fact that there is no water storage tank that is part of these systems.

3.  The systems save energy because they don’t keep the water in a storage tank at a constant temperature.  You only heat what you actually use when you use it.

4.  With these systems, you don’t have to worry about leaks because the storage tank or a pipe cracks. Your home and furnishings will be safer.

5.  There are two kinds of instant water heaters – those powered by electricity and those powered by natural gas. Gas-powered units can produce more water flow than electric units.

6.  The cost of a whole-house tank-less unit will range between $199 and $4000.

7.  Tankless systems usually last 20 years or more. Traditional water heaters with storage units generally last only 10 to 15 years.

8.  If you use a lot of hot water in a day, a tankless system will use 8% less energy. If you use very little hot water in a day, they can save as much as 50% in energy use.

9.  The cost of supplying hot water to your home can be reduced by up to 60% by switching to a tankless system.

10.  Instant water heating units heat between two and five gallons of water a minute.

11.  Because of the limited amount (2 – 5 gallons a minute) heated by these units, you will not be able to run two demands for hot water at a time (such as running the dishwasher and taking a shower).  This drawback can be overcome by installing a booster unit or by just installing units in each place you use hot water.

12. Instant units are small and self-contained. They take little space and don’t need two water supply pipes running to the unit.

13.  Instant water heating units are ideal in places where hot water is needed only occasionally, such as a garage sink, a hot tub, an outdoor cooking area or a pet bathing area.

14.  Instant units are also perfect in places where you need hot water only when the areas of the home are in use, such as a pool house or a guest bathroom.

15. Instant units are also perfect in guest houses, vacation homes and exterior showers for beach homes. Because there is no risk of leaking or flooding the property in case of a leak, you can close up the property when it is not in use and not have to worry. Then when the property is reopened, you don’t have to wait for hot water while the whole storage tank heats.

Before you make remodeling decisions about plumbing, think about whether an instant water heater might meet your needs more efficiently.  If you are looking to make your hot water supply more efficient and conserve water, you might want to consider an instant water heater – you won’t even waste water waiting for the hot water to reach the tap!

Hot water heater repair can be something of a mixed bag. There are minor repairs that you can attempt for yourself if you know how to repair a water heater and there are problems that should only be handled by a licensed professional plumber. Some problems are rather inexpensive and some problems will require that a completely new water heater be installed. It is important to know what you are looking for and what your capabilities are when attempting to deal with any hot water heater repair.

In situations where you smell gas (gas water heater) or the floor is flooded with water (electric water heater) it is important that you leave the house and call upon a licensed professional immediately. Failure to do so could result in property damage and risks the health and well-being of your family.

If your hot water heater is making a lot of noise (banging, whizzing, popping, hissing, etc.) when it first kicks in, the most likely culprit is a build up of sediment at the bottom of your tank. Properly flushing your tank can help to eliminate this problem. In fact, flushing your tank every six to twelve months is part of regular hot water heater maintenance.

Problems such as the temperature of the water being too hot or too cold can often be easily remedied by adjusting the thermostat of your hot water heater. To properly set the temperature of your hot water heater, set the thermostat so that the water coming out of the tap at full hot is just above 150 degrees Fahrenheit if you have a dishwasher or a little lower if you do not. If the temperature does not change after adjusting the thermostat, you probably need to replace the thermostat or its sensor.

If your hot water heater is leaking, there is no option but to replace the unit. A leaking water heater can be a very dangerous thing and a professional plumber will be able to quickly remove your old water heater and replace it with a more energy efficient new model.

For more information on Hot Water Heaters Call Ben Franklin Plumbing Charlotte at 704-461-1700