5 Signs that You Need to Replace Your Hot Water Tank

Hot water is an essential service that makes your home more sanitary and livable. It also makes it a lot easier to enjoy a hot shower after a long day of work. If your home is like most others, it has a water heater with a tank that holds 20 or more gallons of water that are heated constantly by natural gas, propane, or electricity.

A smaller water tank works fine for one or two people, but the larger your family gets, the less effective a smaller water tank is for providing a sufficient supply of hot water. If you are not getting enough hot water, you might opt for a large tank water heater installation to ensure your home has plenty of hot water. Here are five signs that suggest a bigger water tank is the ideal solution to your hot water problems.  

Water Is Lukewarm

You don’t want lukewarm water when washing dishes or taking a shower. Lukewarm water is not as sanitary as hot water and is less effective at cutting through cooking grease and leftover foods that might still cling to your dishes, glasses, and cookware. Lukewarm water also makes it impossible to enjoy a hot shower to loosen your muscles and clean your body. If repairing the water heater is not working, you might just need a bigger water tank that holds enough hot water to handle your daily hot water usage.

Run Out of Hot Water While Showering

You might step into the shower while the hot water is at a perfect temperature only to have it gradually cool down over a few minutes. Even worse is when the water suddenly goes from hot to cold because someone is drawing hot water from a faucet or maybe started a load in the clothes washer or dishwasher. Whenever the water temperature goes from hot to cold while you are showering, that is a sure sign that your home needs a larger water tank for the water heater.

Energy Costs Are Rising

An efficient water heater should maintain a good supply of hot water for your home. When the tank is too small, the heater has to work harder to continually reheat the limited supply of water flowing into and out of it. The harder the water heater works, the more it will use gas or electricity to do its job, which runs up your energy costs. If water heater repair does not cure the problem, then it might be time to install a bigger water tank to hold more hot water.

Low Water Pressure

A water heater can collect minerals and dirt that can clog the water pipes and affect water pressure. Routinely emptying the water tank once or twice a year can help drain any mineral deposits and other foreign substances that you don’t want in your water. If you have not done that in a while, you might experience low water pressure. A water tank that is too small can become partly clogged much faster than a larger one. If you have a problem with low water pressure, a bigger water tank might be the cure.

Discolored Water

You need clean water to help your clothes stay clean and not look dingy or discolored. If you have discolored water, the problem might be with your water softener, but it also might be the hot water heater. A plumber’s inspection of them could determine if one or both are causing your water to be discolored. If the problem is with the hot water tank, a new one that is bigger can help to fix it and restore your home’s clean hot water source.