How To Look At A House
McGarry and Madsen's home inspection blog for buyers of
site-built, mobile/manufactured and modular homes
Can you install a gas water heater in a bathroom?
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
No, you cannot put a gas water heater in a bathroom. A malfunction of the water heater or flue can allow carbon monoxide to flow into a bathroom and accumulate at a fatal level in what is typically a small room. It’s odorless, so you would be slowly asphyxiated without knowing what was happening. The building code specifically bans a water heater in a bathroom for this reason, unless in a sealed closet that receives combustion air from the outside, or it is a direct-vent type. Here’s the citation from the International Residential Code:
See our blog post Where are gas water heaters not allowed to be installed? for more details and other locations where gas water heaters are not allowed, and What is the difference between a regular water heater and a direct vent water heater? for a description of them.
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Here’s links to a collection of more blog posts about WATER HEATERS:
• Why should a tankless water heater have an isolator/service valve kit installed?
• When was a gas water heater first required to be elevated 18 inches above a garage floor?
• What is the purpose of a thermostatic mixing valve above a water heater?
• Does a tankless gas water heater still work with no electricity during a power outage?
• Why do water heaters have a sacrificial anode?
• What is the difference between a manufactured/mobile home water heater and a regular water heater?
• Does a tankless water heater require a pressure relief valve?
• When is a water heater drain pan required?
• Why is there water in my water heater drain pan?
• What does it mean when a water heater Temperature/Pressure Relief (TPR) discharge pipe is "trapped"?
• Can I leave a gas water heater in place when remodeling a garage into a family room or bedroom?
• Where do I find the water heater in a mobile home?
• Does a tankless water heater in an attic require a drain pan?
• Does an electric water heater require a disconnect?
• Is a catch pan and drain piping required for a replacement water heater?
• What is the difference between a single element and dual element electric water heater?
• What is an FVIR water heater?
• What's that powdery crust on the pipe connections at the water heater?
• What is backdrafting at a gas water heater?
• How do I determine if a water heater is gas or electric?
• What does it mean when a gas appliance (water heater, furnace, or range) has been "red tagged"?
• What's the valve with the flip-up handle on the water heater for?
• Why is an older water heater an insurance problem?
Visit our WATER HEATERS page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.
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