How to Effectively Eliminate Lime Scales in Tankless Water Heaters

Are you one of the many home and small business owners who have invested in a tankless or on-demand water heater? If so, then you are just one of many who have a tankless water heater in Orange County who should be aware of the importance of dealing with lime scales that form on the heat exchange elements of your water heater.

Why should you keep your water heater lime scale free? The simple answer is that these lime scales can negatively impact the efficiency of your heating system that can shorten the life cycle of your tankless water heater and also lead to higher energy consumption. The good news is that cleaning out these unwanted lime scales is relatively easy and this is how you do it.

Cleaning Steps

Before you start cleaning your tankless water heater, make sure you have two 5-gallon buckets, pH testing strips, descaler system, and a lime scale cleaner. Follow these guidelines to ensure safety and efficient cleaning.

  • 1. Turn off any electricity and gas feed to your water heater;
  • 2. Close the isolation valves to the water connections from the main water supply and that leading to your property. If these isolation valves do not exist, then your water heater was not installed by a professional; make sure to call one like Scott English Plumbing to have these valves installed and your tankless water heater installation checked;
  • 3. Create a closed loop with the descaler system and the isolation valves of your water heater;
  • 4. Follow the directions on how to add the lime scale remover to the descaler system, making sure that you use the recommended ratio;
  • 5. Open the isolation valve connection of the descaler system and the water heater;
  • 6. Power up the descaler system to start circulating the materials within the water heater and those in the bucket;
  • 7. The circulation should be allowed to run for at least 20 minutes during which time foam should be forming in the bucket. The foam is a sign that the cleaner is working and the scales in the water heater are being dissolved. When the foam clears, the lime scales have been removed;
  • 8. Even if the descaling has completed, allow the pump to run and let the contents of the tankless water heater to drain completely into the bucket. Turn off the pump once all the contents have been drained;
  • 9. Completely flush out any remaining cleaner in the system by unscrewing the isolator valve hose from the inlet and unhooking the outlet hose of the descaler system and placing it into the empty bucket;
  • 10. Gently open the inlet isolator valve to fill the heater with water from the main supply line while allowing excess water to empty into the bucket;
  • 11. Get a pH testing strip to make sure that the tankless water heater is free from cleaning liquid. The pH reading should be less than 5, otherwise, there is still some cleaning liquid in the system;
  • 12. Once the proper pH level has been reached, make sure that you properly dispose of the used lime scale cleaning liquid to avoid being penalized. Check your local, state, or federal regulations to find out how to do this;
  • 13. After you have completely finished the flushing of your tankless water heater, open the isolator valve that will allow hot water to flow into the plumbing system of your property;
  • 14. Turn back on any electricity and gas that feeds your tankless water heater so that you can test the unit if it distributes hot water to your property properly.

If there are no problems, then you have successfully removed any lime scales in your tankless water heater and made it more efficient. Easy, right? Do you want something easier and more efficient? Call Scott English Plumbing to make sure that your tankless water heater is not only lime scale free, but is also free from other potential problems that can impact its performance and efficiency.

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