Your water heater works hardest when nobody's using it. It keeps a full tank hot all night, every night, and a little of that heat leaks out through the sides the whole time.
If your tank is electric, there's a cheap way to slow that leak, and it fits inside an hour.
Below: what a tank loses sitting still and how to wrap it, the winter months that can set your sewer bill for a year, the filter hiding at the bottom of the washer, a fridge switch made for dry weather, and the blanket we'd use.
Reply and tell us: is your water heater electric or gas? We read every one.
What Your Water Heater Loses While You Sleep
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A tank water heater doesn't wait for you to turn on a tap. It keeps the whole tank hot around the clock, and heat seeps out through the tank walls even when nobody's home. That's called standby heat loss.
It adds up. Per the EIA's latest home energy survey, the average home that heats water with electricity uses roughly 2,700 kWh a year doing it. At July's national average of 18.31 cents a kWh, that's about $490 a year.
TLDR: a kWh, or kilowatt-hour, is the unit your electric bill counts.
An insulating blanket slows the leak. The Department of Energy says wrapping a tank can cut standby heat loss by about 25 percent and save up to 16 percent on water heating, as Texas Co-op Power reported. On a $490 year, that's up to about $80.
Not every tank needs one. Put your hand on the side of yours. If it's warm to the touch, Vermont's Department of Public Service says more insulation is worth a look. Newer tanks often come heavily insulated already.
Check the label, too. The DOE's installer guide says to confirm the maker doesn't prohibit added insulation before you start.
This job is for electric tanks. On a gas heater, the vent on top has to stay uncovered, so read your manual before you wrap anything.
Turn off the breaker for the water heater at your electrical panel.
Measure the tank's height and cut the blanket to match. Leave the top uncovered.
Wrap the blanket around the tank and tape it loosely, with the seam away from the access panels.
Mark and cut out the access panels, the relief valve and the pipes.
Tape the seams and edges. Snug is fine, but don't squash the insulation.
Turn the breaker back on.
Electric tanks usually have two access panels on the side, and they cover the controls, so they have to stay reachable.
Renters, ask the landlord first. It's their tank, and the blanket comes off in minutes if they say no. Scroll down for the blanket we'd use.
The Winter Months That Can Set Your Sewer Bill
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There's no meter on the pipe that carries water out of your house. So how does the city know what to charge you for sewer?
In a lot of places, it looks at your winter water use. Winter water mostly goes down the drain, while summer water goes onto lawns and into pools. So a few cold months stand in for the whole year.
Austin Water averages three months of late fall and winter water use, starting in December. That average sets a fixed monthly wastewater fee that holds no matter how much water you use the rest of the year.
The Portland Water Bureau uses February through April, and charges on your winter average or your actual use, whichever is lower.
Either way, a leak during those months gets baked into the bill. Before your window opens:
Find your utility's averaging months. Search your water utility's name plus "winter average" or "wastewater averaging."
Fix leaks first. Portland calls toilets the most common culprit, and our September 22 edition has the test.
Save big water jobs, like filling a hot tub, for outside the window.
Not every utility works this way, so check yours first. Renters who pay their own water bill get the same savings. If water comes with the rent, this one's on the landlord.
Clean the Filter Hiding at the Bottom of Your Washer
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Most front-load washers have a small filter near the floor that catches lint, coins, hair ties and whatever else rode along in a pocket. It sits in front of the drain pump, the part that pushes water out.
When it clogs, the washer drains slowly or not at all. LG says to clean it once a month, and to check it right away if the drain gets slow or the display shows an OE error.
Here's LG's method. Other brands are close, so check your manual for where yours hides.
Turn the washer off and make sure the drum is empty.
Set a shallow pan and a towel in front of the small panel at the bottom.
Open the panel. On most LG models it's at the lower left.
Pull out the little drain hose, take off its cap and let the water run into the pan.
Cap the hose and push it back in.
Turn the filter counterclockwise to take it out. A bit more water will come with it.
Clear out the debris and wash the filter, using a soft brush on any buildup.
Turn it back in clockwise until it stops, then close the panel.
Pull the hose gently, since LG warns it can kink. LG's top-loaders don't have this filter.
It costs nothing, and it's worth a try before you book a repair visit for a washer that won't drain. In a rental with an in-unit washer, it's usually a job you can do yourself.
The Fridge Switch Made for Dry Weather
Some refrigerators hide a small heater in the seal between the doors. It warms that strip just enough to keep condensation from forming on it.
The heater has nothing to do with keeping your food cold. Its only job is that strip of seal.
In humid weather, that helps. In winter, when indoor air turns dry, there's less moisture for it to fight.
Per Whirlpool, that heater runs off a control called Energy Saver, or Humidity on some models. Whirlpool's advice:
Turn it On to save energy when the air in your home is less humid.
Turn it Off when it's warm and humid, or when you see moisture on the seal between the doors.
Whirlpool says it can take up to 24 hours for condensation to clear after a change. The control works differently from model to model, so your manual will show where yours is and what On means on your fridge.
Not every fridge has one, and Whirlpool's notes cover its French door and side-by-side models. If yours has it, it's a two-second change for the dry months, and it works the same in a rental. Set a phone reminder to switch it back when spring gets sticky.
The Blanket We'd Wrap an Electric Tank In
If your tank is electric and warm to the touch, the blanket is the whole job.
The one we'd point you to is the Frost King SP57/11C All Season Water Heater Insulation Blanket, at $34.74. It's a roll of vinyl-faced fiberglass, 48 by 75 inches, sized for tanks up to 60 gallons, with vinyl tape in the box.
Here's the math. Up to 16 percent of a $490 water-heating year is about $80. Even at half that, it pays for itself in about a year.
Check your tank's size first, since it's printed on the label. Medium tanks, 31 to 49 gallons, are the most common kind in the EIA's survey, and this blanket covers those. The package says it fits gas and oil heaters, too, but the savings math above is for electric tanks.
We haven't wrapped a tank with this one ourselves. The size, fit and price come from Frost King's Amazon listing and packaging.
That said, fiberglass is itchy stuff. Wear gloves and long sleeves while you cut it.
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One quick tap
How old is your water heater?
That's Tuesday: a blanket for the tank, the months that set your sewer bill, the filter at the bottom of the washer, and the fridge switch for dry air.
If you only do one thing this week, put your hand on the side of your water heater.
Forward this to whoever in your house pays the water bill.
See you tomorrow.
The Home Wire
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