I bought my new house two years ago. Well, actually, let me correct that statement: I bought my “new-to-me” house two years ago. The small house was built in the early 60’s and I bought it with plans to fix it up over time. As a first-time home buyer, I went into this experience knowing absolutely nothing about home maintenance or repair. Since then, I’ve learned about roofs, heating units, plumbing, as well why I should have been shopping for an electric hot water heater right away.
How did I learn about all of this? I had to figure a lot out as I went along. To spare others some of the headaches I’ve experienced, I thought I’d share some of the sage wisdom I’ve gained – much of it through trial and error.
One of the biggest things I’ve discovered is not to wait until things blow out to address them. The first time this happened was with a pipe under the kitchen sink. I reached underneath to grab paper towels and noticed that the pipe was dripping. Instead of fixing the problem, I put a bowl under the drip and went about my business, emptying the bowl every couple of days.
Fast-forward to two weeks later. I wandered into the kitchen to make my Sunday morning coffee and stepped into a puddle that had traveled from under the sink cabinet and across the kitchen floor. The slow drip had become a genuine, pouring leak, and I had to pay an emergency fee to have a plumber come out right away.
Lesson learned, right? Nope. When I bought the house, the inspector informed me that the hot water heater was well past its prime and needed to be replaced. I know nothing about hot water heaters and thought it looked pretty rusty and awful, but I figured that it was a classic and as long as it still worked, why mess with it?
My hot water heater decided to give up the ghost at 6:30 in the morning, mid-January, just as I needed to shower for an important meeting at work. I got into my suit and tie with my teeth chattering and swore never to put off another home maintenance item again.
The kicker is that in the grand scheme of home ownership, replacing your hot water heater doesn’t cost that much. After doing lots of research, I chose a Rinnai electric hot water heater for an incredibly reasonable price.
Here’s what I’ve learned, so I’ll be better prepared the next time around:
- Most electric hot water heaters last for around 10 years. Any time beyond that is a bonus.
- If you’re not sure about the age of your water heater, look at the serial number. The letter will tell in which month it was manufactured (for instance, F is the sixth letter, so an “F” serial number means the unit was manufactured in June, the sixth month). The first two numerical digits indicate the year. My old water heater was going on twenty years old when it gave up the ghost.
- If your water heater is making odd noises or spitting out rusty water, it’s time to say goodbye. While mine wasn’t turning the water brown, it was rumbling quite a bit. Finding water around your hot water heater is also a bad sign.
A word to the wise: don’t be like me. Take care of things before they become a problem and you’ll save money – and avoid giving a presentation with icy hands and blue lips!
