The buildup of scale is increased with heat and thus the inside of a tankless heat exchanger will accumulate an efficiency reducing “blanket” over time. To combat this problem a tankless is usually (always by a reputable company) installed with flush valves, which isolates your homes water pipes yet allows vinegar to be pushed through the system in turn dissolving the build up and returning the tankless to its original efficiency. This process takes roughly an hour. If you live in Ontario we offer a tankless flushing service.
 

There is really no way to descale a conventional storage type tank water heater, those systems simple become increasingly less efficient over time.

Hard Water Causes Inefficiency

Below is an extensive list of Ontario cities and the corresponding water hardness that is present in the water supply. The higher the number of grains the harder your water is, this in turn produces more scale and deposits in your water heater, on shower heads, around faucets etc. A conventional water heater will become much less efficient with time in a hard water situation; in which case I would recommend a tankless that can be cleaned with a vinegar solution, restoring efficiency.

Quick Hard Water Exercise:

1. Lookup your city and see if you have hard water
2. Think about how old that 40 gallon hot water tank is in your house
3. Know that on average at 7.5 grains of hard water a regular tank loses 2% efficiency a year to due scale build up
4. That 2% doubles to 4% at 15 grains and so on…..
5. After you do the math a tankless that is able to be cleaned of all scale becomes very economical
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It’s always a good idea to have your water tested to determine not only water quality but water hardness and this list should be considered just a rough guide.