While we often take them for granted, a water heater is among the most important appliances in any home and is essential for daily tasks like showering, general cleanup, and doing dishes and laundry.

: Recently, you wrote about replacing a water heater's drain valve. A friend told us that we should also check the anode rod. Is this worth checking? If so, how do we do that? A: An anode rod is a ...

Nearly every home has one. Water heaters are ubiquitous in buildings, though they are not all the same. In most cases we heat and store water in a tank which has either electric elements or a gas ...

Q: Recently, you wrote about replacing a water heater’s drain valve. A friend told us that we should also check the anode rod. Is this worth checking? If so, how do we do that? A: An anode rod is a ...

Q Why, when we are gone for several days and not using hot water, does a gray-purple fine sediment discolor the hot water? The less water used, the darker it gets. One salesman told us that we needed ...