David had been dealing with something pretty frustrating for a few days before he finally picked up the phone. His Navien tankless water heater just stopped working one morning. No hot water for showers, no hot water for dishes, nothing. He managed to get it running again by resetting it, but he knew something wasn’t right. The unit is tucked away up in his attic, which made the whole situation even more annoying to deal with.
Sound familiar? If you live in Richardson and have a tankless water heater, you might have experienced something similar. These units are amazing when they work properly, but they do need some regular attention to keep running smooth.
What We Found When We Got There
When our tech climbed up into David’s attic to take a look at his Navien unit, a couple things stood out right away. First, the system was overdue for a flush. Tankless water heaters build up mineral deposits over time, especially here in Richardson where the water is pretty hard. That buildup can cause all sorts of problems like reduced efficiency, error codes, and yeah, random shutdowns.
The other issue was with the condensate line. Somebody had previously connected it to the TPR drain line using a T-fitting, which isn’t the right way to do it. Condensate from a tankless water heater needs to drain properly or you can end up with water damage or the unit shutting itself down as a safety measure.
The Work We Did
Here is what we took care of during the visit:
- Performed a full flush on the tankless water heater to clear out all that mineral buildup that had been gunking up the system.
- Re-routed the condensate line so it now drains into the AC condensate line instead of being jury rigged to the TPR drain.
- Removed that T-fitting from the TPR line so everything is up to code and working like it should.
After the flush, David’s unit was running way better. The water heated up faster and the system wasn’t struggling like it had been before. Plus with the condensate line fixed correctly, he shouldn’t have any more weird shutdowns related to drainage issues.
Why Tankless Water Heaters Need Regular Maintenance
A lot of homeowners in Richardson get tankless units installed and then forget about them for years. I get it, they don’t have a big tank sitting there reminding you they exist. But these systems need flushing at least once a year, sometimes twice if your water is really hard.
When you skip maintenance on a tankless water heater you might notice:
- Water taking longer to heat up than it used to
- The unit making weird noises or displaying error codes
- Higher gas bills because the system is working harder than it needs to
- Random shutdowns that require you to reset the unit
If any of that sounds like what’s happening at your house, it’s probably time to get your system flushed and inspected.
Richardson Homeowners and Hard Water Problems
Living in Richardson means dealing with hard water. It’s just part of life here in North Texas. That mineral content wreaks havoc on plumbing over time, but tankless water heaters are especially sensitive to it. The heat exchanger inside the unit is where all that scaling happens, and once it gets bad enough the whole system can fail.
A yearly flush is honestly the best way to protect your investment. Tankless units aren’t cheap to replace, so spending a little on maintenance each year makes way more sense than having to buy a new one in five years instead of fifteen.
Need Help With Your Tankless Water Heater
If your tankless is acting up or you can’t remember the last time it was serviced, give us a call. We work on all the major brands including Navien, Rinnai, and Rheem. Whether you need a simple flush or there’s something more complicated going on, we can help you figure it out.
Check out our tankless repair services to learn more about what we offer. And if you’re in Richardson or the surrounding areas, take a look at our Richardson TX service page to see how we can help with all your plumbing needs.
Don’t wait until your tankless quits on you completely. A little maintenance now saves a lot of headaches later.