Residential Hot Water Heaters -- Safety Tips And Recommendations
Do you practice residential hot water heater safety? It's a safe bet that most homeowners have probably never heard of water heater safety -- and that can really be a problem because a malfunctioning water heater can cause damage -- a lot of damage -- to your home and to yourself as well.
Perhaps the most obvious danger from a residential hot water heater would be the danger of scalding or burning, due to an excessively high water temperature. Most people don't realize that if your water temperature reaches 190°F, it can cause a third degree burn instantly! And if the temperature of the water in your residential hot water heater goes above 212°F it can come out of your faucet and inflict steam burns.
An important device that you can have installed on your residential hot water heater is a temperature and pressure relief valve. This special-purpose valve will cause water to be ejected if it gets too hot, or has developed too much pressure (usually through a pipe that runs down the side of the tank). When purchasing a residential hot water heater you should make sure that this type of valve is installed.
On the other hand, you must make sure not to set the water temperature thermostat on your residential hot water heater too low. If you do this, you run the risk of incubating dangerous bacteria -- in fact, moderately warm water which is not hot enough to kill them provides a perfect environment in which these bacteria can grow. For this reason, you should set your residential hot water heater thermostat to at least 120°F -- at this temperature, the risk of scalding is minimized, while at the same time you are helping to ensure that the water in your residential hot water heater tank is hot enough to kill any bacteria that might be there.
A high water temperature is not the only safety issue with your residential water heater. For example, many homeowners have their hot water heater tank installed in their garage. If it is, you would do well to make sure that it is installed at least 12-18 inches or more (depending on your local municipal codes). Why? Because if oil, gasoline, or any other flammable liquids are spilled on your floor they could be ignited if they get too close to the pilot light on your water heater.
And if you live in an earthquake-prone area, you'll need to take some other precautions with your residential hot water heater. In particular you will need to make sure that your hot water tank is securely strapped against a good sturdy wall -- otherwise, in the event of an earthquake your residential hot water heater might tip over and rupture your gas and water lines.
