Video: Water Heater Components to Know

PLEASANTON — Host, Sarah Rutan: When it comes to water heaters, there are a few components every homeowner should know about. Today we’re in Pleasanton with Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Tom Cortez of Savior Plumbing to learn more.

Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Tom Cortez: A few quick tips about your water heater. If you see you have a stainless steel flex sign on the top, you can rest assured it’s a full port valve. But if it’s stainless steel and it’s got a braided clad like this, you can know it’s restricted, and you want to avoid those. They have a rubber lining that breaks down and ends up coming through your water, and some of them are even black hose like this. Those also are braided. You have your flue pipe where the natural gas goes out. If this is ever broken apart or gaps, you could be getting carbon monoxide into your home or into your garage which is bad for you to breathe.

This is an important valve. If water ever comes out of there, this is your temperature pressure relief valve. Don’t use it as a switch. Some people like to turn it and lift it up and see water shoot out of it because it will shoot out of it, but that’s not ever to be used. It’s only for safety device if the water heater overheats or builds up pressure, and last but not least, daylight savings time. Every year we’ll remind you, “I need to drain my water heater.” Most of us have all heard it. Very few of us do it. It will help maintain the life of your heater and give you maintenance that you can do yourself.

Host, Sarah Rutan: To learn more from local, top rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified Expert Reports at experts.diamondcertified.org.