Many people don’t know that they have a potential bomb inside their home. When safety devices on a water heater fail, bad things can happen!
The thermostat on a water heater is designed to stop the water heater from overheating, but they can fail. In a closed system, this could cause pressure to build up in the tank and potentially explode. Thankfully, the modern water heaters come with a safety device called a temperature and pressure relief valve (T&P Valve). This valve lets off excess pressure and steam from the heater in the case that the thermostat fails and the elements keep heating the water. What happens if they both fail? The heater can explode and destroy part of your home or injure your family. In Phoenix, an exploding hot water heater traveled almost three blocks from a home and destroyed it. Click here to read the full story.
Another example comes from Avon High School where a failed T&P valve caused a five gallon water heater to explode destroying an entire room. It was concluded that proper inspections and maintenance may have prevented this. Luckily, there were no injuries. Click here to read the full story.
Annual inspection and maintenance of your water heater can help prevent this from happening in your home. Be sure to check out our articles:
Mythbusters demonstrated the effects of a hot water heater explosion: