How to Prepare Your Water Heater for a Chicago Winter

Chicago is known for some extreme weather. Even the Fall can bring some cold temperatures. So, don’t wait on preparing your water heater for our Chicago winter. Nothing is worse than having to take a cold shower because your water heater isn’t working! It is important for all homeowners to be proactive with their seasonal maintenance.

Our professional plumbers in Chicago have seen too many unneeded water heater repair services that could have been avoided with just a few tips.

1. Insulate Your Pipes: Having a well-insulated unit can save you some money on your utility bills. Insulating the pipes will keep the water inside at a more reasonable temperature, requiring less energy to heat up. Pipe sleeves are a great option.
2. Insulate the Water Heater Unit: The above applies to the unit itself too. Insulative blankets are available for water heater units of all sizes.
3. Take a Look at The Surroundings: Depending on where your water heater is located, external variables can play a larger role. For example, if your water heater is not in a well-heated area and your power goes out, this can lead to frozen pipes. For extreme situations, consider moving your water heater to avoid this.
4. Check the Exhaust and Intake: All sorts of things can end up around your water heater to a good for all seasons is to always make sure your intake and exhaust are free of debris!
5. Adjust Temperature: Just before cold weather arrives is the perfect time to adjust your water heater temperature. Avoid turning the temperature up too high so you do not overuse your equipment. Turning the temperature down is actually the better choice to lower energy consumption and focus on other strategies to maintain a higher water temp.
6. Clean the Tank: To avoid calcium buildup and excess sediment cleaning your take will increase the efficiency of your system. So this task is most important as you approach the coldest months of the year. It’s common for tanks to be drained 1-2 times a year. Once emptied, you are able to flush the tank to get all sediments out. We would suggest letting our water heater experts take care of this task for you.

If you remember these tips your water heater will be well-prepared for the upcoming Chicago weather. For professional help, call Four Seasons for all your water heater repair and maintenance services!