When to Replace Your Water Heater (Not Just Patch It)
Five signs your Marietta water heater needs replacement, not another patch. Lifespan, leak symptoms, and replacement guidance.
Repair vs replace, the honest test
The rule: under 8 years old with one part down, repair. Past 10 years, leaking from the tank itself, or stacking up service tickets, replace. Pumping money into a dying tank is a slow loss.
Sign 1: Tank is 10+ years old
Find the serial number on the data plate. Most manufacturers code the build year into the first digits. Past 10 years in Marietta and the tank is on borrowed time. Cobb County water at 3 to 5 grains, plus older galvanized risers in homes near the Marietta Square, rarely lets a tank push past year 12.
Sign 2: Water under the tank
Standing water at the base means the tank wall has pitted through. Not repairable. Replace before the slow drip turns into a flooded basement, especially on finished basements common in East Cobb and Sandy Springs.
Sign 3: Rust-tinted hot water
Hot water comes out brown or orange, cold runs clear? The inside of the tank is corroding. Time for a swap. The lining is already gone.
Sign 4: Repeated repairs
Three service tickets in two years on a tank past 8 years old? You are paying for a replacement on installments. Better to put that money into a new unit and stop the bleed.
Sign 5: Showers go cold fast
A shower that used to run long now goes cold in 5 minutes? Calcium has eaten the working capacity of your tank. A flush might recover some of it. If it does not, or comes back fast, plan for a replacement. Common on older homes near Whitlock Avenue and along Roswell Street.
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