Most consumers, don’t give there water heater a second thought, as long as it is producing hot water, I have witnessed this firsthand as a veteran plumber with over 25 years experience. Some homeowners don’t even know the location of the water heater in there home. However I am not judging them, because I have let the maintenance on my own water heater, go past the suggested annual maintenance check on more than one occasion and as I stated, I have been in the plumbing in dallas tx for more than two decades and know the dangers of non maintenance, to water heaters first hand. Unfortunately, I have been called out to repair or replace faulty water heaters more than once after an injury has occurred due to scalding.
Hot water causes, on average 3,800 injuries and 34 deaths each year in the United States. My family has had the unfortunate experience of spending Christmas Eve in the children’s hospital burn unit, because of a scalding injury to my four year old nephew, who got his shoe lace caught around the hot side handle of the garden tub faucet. It happened in seconds, with adult supervision only steps from him. He received third degree burns, and spent the night in the hospital being treated, Thank goodness he is fine now, but that could have been much worse. This happened at my parent’s home, my mother made the statement, that there water did seem hotter than usual. So, me being in the plumbing repair business, I came back that next morning and checked the water heater, and found that the gas control valve was not functioning properly. When I tested the temperature of the water, it was 146 degrees Fahrenheit, Water can cause scald injury in less than a second at 150 degrees Fahrenheit, and prolonged exposure can cause death. There are no guarantees that annual maintenance, performed by a State licensed plumbing professional will prevent these types of injuries, but when the safety of children and adults alike are concerned it is a small price to pay.
- Comments Off
- Read Entire Post