09/08/2026
School's back, which means your house just went from "everybody showers whenever" to "four people, one bathroom, 45 minutes."
If your water heater was already borderline, this is the month you'll find out.
Two things that help:
1. Flush the tank. Sediment buildup steals capacity — you're heating around a layer of scale instead of heating water. A flush can noticeably improve how much hot water you actually get.
2. Check the temperature setting. 120°F is the sweet spot. Higher wastes energy and is a genuine scald risk for little kids. Lower and you're into bacteria territory.
If you're consistently running out halfway through the morning and the tank is over 10 years old, it may not be a capacity problem. It may be an age problem.
