Northfield, NJ Homeowners Upgrade to Tankless Water Heater While Working From Home

With everyone home much more often right now, all those problems in the house that you thought were small or insignificant suddenly seem that much more apparent.

For these Northfield, NJ homeowners, that problem was with their old water heater. Sure, they’d noticed some warning signs that things weren’t quite right.

But, with everyone always on the move, they never considered it for too long.

However, now with the family working from home, those quick, lukewarm showers were getting on people’s nerves.

With some downside during The Great Pause, they decided it was time to do something about this.

But, of course, they weren’t sure at first if it was the responsible thing to do. After all, we’re all trying to flatten the curve by social distancing.

Was bringing a stranger into the house a good idea? Was the problem really worth it?

In this case study, we’ll do more besides review the signs of a failing water heater.

We’ll also look into how the family justified calling for service, and why they were confident in doing so.

Finally, we’ll see how they upgraded their system to account for everyone being home more often — and the benefits they’ll continue enjoying once this is all over.

---

Problem: The water heater in this Northfield, NJ home was old and not working nearly as well as it used to. With everyone home all the time now, the problems were even more apparent — and annoying.
Solution: Our homeowners trusted Broadley’s to take the proper precautions to work in their home during social distancing. As a result, they decided to upgrade to a tankless water heater.

---

Signs of a Failing Water Heater in Northfield, NJ

Although our Northfield, NJ family didn’t have all these problems, they noticed a few of these signs of a failing water heater:

• Warm, not hot, water
• Only getting cold water
• Signs of leaks
• Rumbling noises from the unit
• Discolored hot water from showers and faucets

For our homeowners, the never-quite-hot-enough water was their first indication. Even when they only turned on the hot faucet, the water never got beyond being just warm.

At first, that just meant showers weren’t as comfortable as they usually were.

But, soon, they were worried about hygiene: Was the dishwasher really getting things clean? Were people washing their hands well enough?

Then, being home more often meant showers turning cold more often. At first, they chalked it up to everyone getting ready around the same time of the day.

But, once they spread out their showers and baths and still ended up running cold, they knew there was a problem.

The other advantage of working from home, in this case, was spotting a third sign: Rumbling from the water heater.

Usually, everyone was running around in the morning and not at home during the day.

At night, it was homework and making dinner before relaxing.

Now, home all the time meant noticing a whole bunch of weird rumbling coming from the basement. Some quick investigation revealed the source: That old water heater.

Now, if this all happened even a few weeks earlier, calling for service would have been the obvious move.

But now, they had to decide if this warranted a quick breach of social distancing.

Getting HVAC Service While Social Distancing

HVAC service providers are considered essential, so you can still get service, repairs, and replacement for your heating and cooling systems during the current shutdowns and stay-at-home orders.

Even still, people are understandably cautious about letting someone in their home. Fortunately, our homeowners decided to call Broadley’s.

First, our site’s chatbot has a live tech on the other end during regular business hours. This way, you can speak with a live person without even picking up the phone.

Speaking of, we’re also answering the phone right now. And we can do much more than usual with tele-conferencing.

While on the phone, we got plenty of information about precisely what was happening. This way, we had a good idea of the problem before even getting to their home.

And, when we realized a house call would be necessary, we let them know how we’d help keep them safe.

In March, we began dispatching out techs from home instead of making them come into the office. Each tech follows CDC hygiene and sanitation guidelines.

They’re all equipped with gloves, masks, and booties, and they’ll wear them all if you ask.

After all, even with everything going on, no one wants to see someone show up at their house looking like an extra from Outbreak.

Our homeowners also asked about sanitizers, and we explained how we wipe down all our tools and even the steering wheels of the vans.

And, we won’t touch anything like the thermostat if we don’t have to.

And, when our homeowners felt comfortable with a service call, they used the opportunity to upgrade their home.

Upgrading to a Tankless Water Heater

Once our homeowners confirmed that the water heater was beyond repair, they asked about ways to make the most of the situation. That meant not just doing an exact replacement but using the opportunity to improve their home comfort.

That’s when they learned about tankless water heaters.

You know that frustrating feeling of getting in the shower last only to run out of hot water? For this home, that’s a thing of the past.

Instead of storing water, the tankless models instantly heat the water when you turn on the faucet.

This way, you never run out, because it only heats up what you need, when you need it.

Now, our homeowners don’t worry about their shower schedules or when to do laundry. They always get the water temperature they want as soon as the water’s running.

And, as much as they, like all of us, are looking forward to going out more, they’re a little more comfortable staying at home.

At Broadley’s, we want everyone to feel safe calling us about a heating or cooling problem. You don’t want a small problem to get worse or become a safety issue.

We’ll work with you remotely to diagnose as much as we can before sending someone out.