Rust and other forms of corrosion weaken metal and cause it to decay. It’s rarely a good thing to have rust occur, and this is true for water heaters. You don’t want to see rust developing on any part of your home’s water heater.
But how serious is water heater corrosion? You may have heard that conventional wisdom is that when a water heater starts to show signs of rust, the whole unit needs to be replaced. There is some truth to this, but it isn’t the whole story. Below we’ll look closer at the issue of rust and your water heater.