Is your water heater making noise? This blog covers the noises your water heater might make and if it should make them. You’ll also learn how to stop the water heater making noise.
Water heaters make a wide range of noise. Knowing what the noises mean, lets you know if your water heater needs maintenance or parts replaced. The first noises to know about are the cracking, popping, and rumbling.
Sediment starts to build-up on the heating elements inside a water heater. When turned off, water gets trapped under the sediment. Once turned back on, the water starts to boil causing the cracking and popping. At that point, you should consider changing the heating elements.
Next is the rumbling noise. A water heater making noise that sounds like rumbling is sediment built up in the bottom. When sediment builds up in the bottom, the water starts flushing it around, making noise.
There are a few things to consider with this. You may want to put an anti-scale system on your house to help eliminate that. It helps to break it down and keeps it in the water.
There’s nothing wrong with calcium and magnesium in water. It’s there for our own good, but bad for our products.
An anti-scale system will keep it in the water where it should be. It won’t be sticking to the heating element, inside of the water heater, or the fixtures.
Other sounds you can hear with a water heater making noise are knocking and hammering. This can be caused by a shock arrestor not being installed or a water hammer arrestor.
In some fixtures, where water is instantly on and instantly off, it can cause the water to knock and hammer inside the walls. If your problem is bad enough, it can be fixed. However, you will have to get inside the wall.
Sometimes with a water heater making noise, it can sound like screaming or screeching. A reason for this sound is a valve not getting completely closed.
If you hear this noise, check the valve on the water heater, toilet, or anything that may not be closed all the way.
The next noise is ticking and tapping. Sometimes the threaded pieces of pipe that come out of the water heater have a check valve or heat trap. It can have a piece that moves, causing the tapping.
The tapping noise can also be something you hear in the walls. When water pipes get too hot, they can expand and cause a tapping noise.
A tankless water heater making noise is common. Clicking, the fan motor, and burner all commonly make noise in a tankless water heater. Chances are if the noises are right at the water heater, it’s something it’s supposed to be doing.
The most important thing to do with a new water heater: remember to flush it once a year. Flushing it after too long can cause a leak on your water heater.
Watch our video about water heater noises here:
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