Water Heater Repair in Austin, TX

Once a year is the practical answer for most Austin-area homes, and more often is not unreasonable on well water in the Hill Country. Manufacturers often suggest a flush every year or two under average conditions, but Central Texas water is well above average in mineral content, and a tank that goes five years without a flush can carry inches of scale on the bottom. Flushing also gives us a chance to check the anode rod, which is the part that sacrifices itself so the tank does not rust. Care Club members get an annual plumbing inspection where we look at both. A water softener slows the buildup considerably; see Austin water softeners.

Yes, three things. Make sure there is a drain pan under it with a line that runs to the outside, and that the line is not clogged; a pan with a blocked drain is a bucket waiting to overflow. Find the cold supply shutoff valve on top of the tank and confirm it turns, so you can stop a leak from below without climbing up in a hurry. And consider a leak sensor or a float switch in the pan that shuts the water off automatically. Attic heaters in Round Rock, Cedar Park and Pflugerville homes are normal and safe, but when they fail they fail onto drywall, and a few minutes of preparation changes what that costs.

The temperature and pressure relief valve opens when the water inside the tank gets too hot or the pressure gets too high. If it drips regularly, the usual cause in Austin homes is not a bad valve but excess pressure: water expands as it heats, and in a house with a pressure-reducing valve or a backflow device there is nowhere for that expansion to go without an expansion tank. Some Austin-area neighborhoods also have high street pressure that needs regulating. Replacing the relief valve alone often means it drips again in a month. We test the static pressure, check or add an expansion tank, and replace the valve only if it has actually failed.

When the tank itself is leaking, there is no repair; the steel has rusted through and it needs replacing. Short of that, the deciding factors are age and what has already failed. A tank in its first decade with a burned-out element or a bad thermocouple is worth fixing. A tank well past ten years, with rusty water and a second or third repair coming, is usually costing more to keep than to replace, especially in an attic where the next leak has consequences. We give you both numbers in writing and let you decide. Our Austin water heater replacement page covers what comes next, and financing is available, subject to credit approval.