Water Heater: Home’s Most Boring Appliance : Upkeep: When it does get exciting, it may run out of hot water, spring a leak, or in worst case, blow up. But prevention is simple.

At first glance, your water heater would seem to be the most boring appliance in the whole house. And it doesn’t gain any excitement value at second or third glance, either.

That’s the way you want it. Because when a water heater isn’t boring you to tears, it can get real exciting.

Examples include giving out when you’re taking a hot shower or springing a leak in the middle of the night, as mine did a few weeks back. But the real topper is when it overheats and explodes like a terrorist bomb, ripping your house apart in the process.

So all in all, it’s in your best interest to make sure your water heater remains boring. Here’s how:

First and foremost, make sure it has a temperature/pressure relief (TPR) valve. This sits on top of your water heater and looks something like a little faucet with a flip-up lever on it. In most modern installations it will stand by itself as shown in the sketch, although sometimes it may be connected to the hot water outlet via a tee.

Normally, a drain line will be connected to the valve. This should run down to near floor level as shown or to a floor drain, but never outdoors where it could freeze up and become clogged with ice.

If your heater doesn’t have a TPR valve, have one put in. If you do have a valve, make sure it is working properly. To do this, flip the little lever up. This should release a flow of water (catch this in a bucket if you like) flushing the valve clean in the process.

When you release the lever, the valve should close. If you get no flow, or the valve won’t close properly, it is clogged or defective and should be replaced immediately. Make this simple check at least twice a year.

Prolonging tank life. This is pretty simple. First of all, realize that corrosion is accelerated by heat. The hotter you set your tank, the faster it will corrode. So set the thermostat as low as practical.

The best way to do this is let your dishwasher be the judge. Dishwashers need fairly hot water (about 120 degrees) to work effectively. So, every few days, lower the water heater thermostat a few degrees. Keep this up until your dishwasher no longer cleans the dishes, then turn the thermostat back up a few degrees.

Note: Some dishwashers have built-in heaters to make sure their water supply is hot enough. In this case, let your shower be your guide. If you can’t get your shower hot enough, or you run out of hot water too quickly, turn the water heater back up a few degrees.

Another way to help prevent corrosion is to flush your tank a couple of times a year. Do this by hooking up a hose to the bottom drain valve (see sketch) and draining off a few gallons of water. This will flush out any scale or other mineral deposits on the bottom of the tank, slowing down corrosion, and often curing any popping noises coming from the tank.

If you still find yourself rusting out a tank every few years, your problem is probably minerals or a high acid content in your water. My own well water is so acidic that my last water heater started leaking in just two years.

The cure was to install an acid neutralizer. This is essentially a fiberglass tank filled with a bed of calcium carbonate or magnesium oxide. As the water passes through this bed, it is neutralized.

This not only protects your water heater, it does the same for the rest of your plumbing system, so pipes and valves should last longer. And with acid no longer eating away at your plumbing system, you’ll probably find your water tastes better.

One last corrosion cure. If you’ve had corrosion problems in the past, you might consider having your plumber check the tank’s sacrificial anode. Not shown in the sketch, this is simply a rod of magnesium about 3 or 4 feet long immersed in the tank. It’s designed to corrode on purpose, instead of the tank, but once it is nearly eaten away, it can no longer do its job. In that case, you can have it replaced.

That done, you can focus your attention on one of your more exciting appliances, like that electric fondue pot you got as a wedding present.