Can Water Heaters In Attic Be Safe?

Many houses and apartments still have huge tank hot water heaters. They take up a whole lot of space, which is not convenient, especially in small homes this is why quite often people situate water heaters in attic.  In addition to this, there is usually a hot water heater situated in the house basement across the United States.

But in some states, such as North Caroline, you can find thick red clay-based soil, which makes it difficult to make a basement during construction works – the machinery and men can’t dig that deep into the soil. Some homes, though, have a basement floor, which happens to be a walkout due to the grading of the land.

Of course, people can’t choose the place where to live only according to the quality of the land.

Because of this reason, many houses are constructed on a slab foundation, which makes it challenging to organize plumbing on the first floor. Therefore, construction workers choose to put hot water heaters and air conditioning units in attic. Such a location causes a lot of risks for many reasons.

For instance, people seldom go to the attic, so if there is some problem or a leak, a homeowner may not notice it for a long time and will suffer from a lot of damage and loss. Therefore, you should always consider all the advantages and disadvantages of a tank-type water heater in the attic.

Water heaters in attic can also be an issue when you rent a house and have no access to the attic. Therefore, when you are going to rent your home, ask your landlords about the heater and try to get the key to the attic if you don’t have it. Of course, the access to the attic will be useful for you not only because of the hot water heater located there.

What can we do to avoid this situation? Here we have prepared the review of tank-type hot water heaters to make everything clear.

If You Need To Make A Change

There are several options for how you can solve this issue, but we think you should do something definitely. We can’t say that a hot water heater in attic is something totally disastrous, but if you have the wish and the opportunity to change the situation, you should really consider the following advice.

First of all, you have a chance to move the hot water heater to the first-floor interior closet or to the garage if you have one. Of course, it will cost a lot since you will have to hire specialists in this area but it’s worth it since it will be closer to you, so you will manage to notice a leak in time.

One more solution is that you can take away your tanked heater and install a tankless heater. It can also cost a lot, but they don’t take so much space as tanked heaters do, and they more seldom cause any water damages. They don’t obtain the place to store hot water, they just heat it when someone turns it on in the house.

You should also know that this kind of heater will save some money because it requires less energy.

If you don’t like the options mentioned above and you think of leaving your hot water heater in attic, you can consider buying such thing as Water Cops. These are very small sensors that are put in some dangerous places at home, for example, around the heater.

Their function is to notice water if there is some damage, so they help to prevent serious losses.

HELPFUL VIDEO: Water Heaters In Attic

Watch this video and find out how to make an attic water heater replacement step-by-step.

What You Should Know About Your Heater In The Attic

First of all, we should remember that the usual weight of water heaters is about 150 pounds, and they usually serve from seven up to fifteen years.

Secondly, you have to organize the special area through which your hot water heater can be put down or up. It has to be at least 24″x36″, and the bigger heaters need more space.

Below you can see the list of tips for high-quality maintenance of your water heater in the attic:

• In order to diminish sediment, you should clean the tank bi-annually or annually. It will make the tank work longer and more efficiently;
• Make sure that the pan is drain and you have a correctly functioning Min. 3/4″ drain water lines in attic to outside;
• If your heater works on gas, your gas company should check the heating system functions annually;
• If the anode rod is wearing off, replace it in time.

The usual states with attic hot water heaters happen to be Arizona, California, Texas, Mississipi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and etc. For homeowners of these states, there is a wonderful solution that is useful for correct maintenance – a special attic lift.

Features of Water Heater In The Attic

Actually, water heaters in the attic can be a good solution for many homeowners.

The thing we have already mentioned above is that tank-type water heaters take a lot of places. Therefore, when they are put in the attic, they save a lot of living area.

However, it is usually claimed to be inconvenient since when there is damage caused by the water heater in the attic, all the water from the damage will go down on the rest of the house. In this case, you will have to pay for repair works more.

The second interesting feature is that when tank-type water heaters are situated in the attic, in summer it becomes really efficient because the sun warms up the attic, and it’s much easier to keep the needed temperature in the tank with fewer losses in energy.

You should remember that if there is a water heater in the attic, there will be more moisture around it, which can cause mold growth. It can be a big problem as it is difficult to get rid of it.

Another thing about tank-type water heaters is that they are bulky and not very elegant. Therefore, those who care about the interior of their homes and the total look will prefer to hide their water heaters from their own and their guests’ eyes. The attic will be a perfect place for this.

When the tanked hot water heater is located in the attic, the water from the tank is distributed faster than when it’s situated somewhere else. It makes the use of water more convenient and you don’t have to wait for warm water standing in the shower or sitting in the bath.

So, you can see that an attic water heater can be a useful thing yet cost you a lot of problems and even money.

Anyway, attic heaters came into our lives many years ago and won’t leave us soon, so we can get adapted to their use and maintenance. Plumbing in the attic is also available but has its own difficulties and can cost more than ordinary plumbing.

In Closing

We certainly can’t order everyone to relocate their tanked water heaters or replace them with any other inventory. However, we want you to know about all the advantages and disadvantages of hot water heaters in the attic, so you will be able to make your own reasonable decision concerning this issue.

You should also be ready to solve your water heater in attic problems and learn the ways to do it in advance. If you decide that you don’t want to have a tank-type hot water heater, you can choose to install a tankless water heater in attic.

Actually, a tankless water heater can be installed not only in the attic. They are a good choice for homeowners since they guarantee comfort – tankless water heaters offer an instant and continuous stream of hot water in any place of your house.

Besides, they are more efficient and work for twenty years and more, which is much longer than tank-type water heaters work.

In other words, you can see that there are several options which inventory you can choose and where you can place it. Of course, it’s only up to you which one you will implement in your house. We just hope that the review has given you as much information as possible to make a weighed and reasonable decision.