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So for the past week, I think my hot water that comes out of the faucet is a lot hotter than normal (scalding hot) and smells kind of salty. Is this something I need to be concerned about? I'm on town water/sewer and I have a water heater that is a "direct vent" that I had a plumber put in about 2.5 years ago. I checked the temperature setting and it's still smack in the middle where it was set before. There is also a bit of a smell of salt near the water heater.
Yeah, you may have a stuck thermostat or other issue. You do need to get it taken care of quickly, otherwise you will likely have some seriously high gas costs, and the possibility of damage. If the T&P valve is working properly and piped to a safe location, then you might be safe, even with the high energy costs. If not...
I just found out that my town does some kind of cleaning of their water system every March.
Public Works and Utilities Department (http://www.townofcary.org/depts/pwdept/waterdisinfect/waterdisinfect02.htm - broken link)
Quote:
To meet state and federal regulations, Cary/Apex Water Treatment Plant operators suspend the addition of ammonia during disinfecting each March. This is part of a balancing of treatment procedures to provide safe drinking water.
Important Note:
Water customers who use kidney dialysis machines should be aware that water may contain chlorine, ammonia, or a combination of the two during March of each year.
The Town uses chlorine as a disinfectant, but began adding ammonia in 1993 to help reduce the amount of trihalomethanes, a byproduct from disinfecting with chlorine only. However, bacteria eventually may adapt to the ammonia-chlorine combination. So the state of North Carolina requires an annual "cleansing" of systems that use ammonia.
Water may smell more like chlorine and possibly be slightly discolored during March. Such changes are temporary and a part of the treatment process. The Town will test daily to ensure that chlorine levels are safe and will flush the system as needed to maintain water quality.
So the water is actually different this time of year.
If the temperature control has not been changed, and the water is getting hotter, then the thermostat has probably gone bad. Try lowering the temperature control and see if the water temperature goes down.
Keep in mind, it will take quite a while for the temperature to go down to the new setting, It may even take more than a day, depending on your use.
If the temperature of the water is very very hot, you may need to call a plumber and fix this right away. The TPR valve (see photo) will start flowing if the temperature gets way too hot. It also can go bad.
Try lowering it first, but you probably need to have someone look at it.
A T&P (or TPR) valve is a safety valve that sits into the tank. Standard T&P (temperature and pressure relief) valves will open when the water pressure exceeds a preset - usually 150lbs/in2 or the water gets near boiling. The idea usually works, but if a joint in the plumbing is weak, it can fail before the T&P valve opens, creating a flood of (possibly hot) water. In the old days, connections to water mains did not require a check valve to prevent backflow, so pressures rarely got to a critical point. Now, with checkvalves, the system can build up pressure like a boiler.
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