Most homeowners give very little thought to maintaining their water heaters. For most, the water heater sits quietly in the attic, basement or garage where it is ignored for years until the day it stops working or starts leaking. Then, the plumber is called to replace the water heater with a new water heater and after the water heater installation, it is ignored again until the cycle repeats itself.
Under these conditions, a typical water heater lasts about 10 to 12 years before the tank corrodes through and starts to leak. A leaking tank is the most common reason for a water heater replacement is which is too bad because with a little maintenance, a water heater can last 20 years or more.
Water heaters slowly corrode from the inside out. To stop the tank from corroding, water heaters are built with sacrificial anodes which are soft metal pipes inside the tank. These pipes corrode instead of the tank. The rate of corrosion varies depending on the quality of the construction, amount of minerals in the tap water, and other factors but a typical anode lasts about six years. Some water heaters are equipped with two anodes that together will last about twelve years.
Once the sacrificial anodes have corroded away, the tank will start corroding and within a few years the tank will corrode through and start leaking. Replacing the anodes before they are completely used up will help the tank last much longer.
Replacing the anode on your water heater is a moderately difficult task. Depending on how and where the water heater is installed, replacing the anodes may involve removing the water heater. Since there is no way to tell how much of the anode is left without removing it from the tank, the best way to handle water heater anode replacement is to have a single anode replaced every 5 years and double anodes replaced every 10 years. This will help insure that your water heater tank is protected against corrosion. Unless you are very comfortable with your skill level, this is a job that should be handled by an experienced plumber.
