If you have your water heater in an area that people frequent, then it’s a good idea to hide it in creative ways. These appliances are not generally conducive to interior decorating. They’re big and cylindrical, and they’re usually some shade of white or gray. But you can be quite creative when it comes to hiding their ungainliness.
Safety First
Be careful if you’re thinking of draping some fabric. Hung near the water heater, fabric-based solutions can become fire hazards. Both gas- and electricity-powered water heaters can get hot enough to pose a fire hazard if you keep fabric near them.
Creative Methods
Although using curtains and other fabric near the water heater poses a risk of fire, you can safely use these items if they’re at least 2 feet from the burner and controls. Perhaps the easiest solution is to install rods for a shower curtain at a safe distance from the water heater. Use an opaque shower curtain that goes all the way to the floor. This method has the benefit of letting you move the curtain to access the water heater for maintenance.
Next, you can buy or build a room divider or privacy screen. The best part of this method is that you can paint or draw on the divider to give it your own sense of style. If you’re a photographer, then you can turn the divider into a display piece for shots of family and friends. Using modern software, you could even take a panoramic shot of a beautiful landscape and print it piecemeal. Then it’s easy to attach those printed portions of the larger photo onto the divider.
If you have carpentry skills, then you can simply build a wooden cabinet around the water heater. This method also allows you to decorate the wood, and it’s permanent until you remove the cabinet. Think of it as a larger version of the appliance garages you build in your kitchen. If you happen to be handy but not artistic, then you can use the walls of the cabinet for practical things. These include:
- A shoe rack
- Coat hooks
- A built-in umbrella stand
- Curio display shelves
You can use your imagination to come up with other uses, too. Just make sure that anything you decide to do with the cabinet takes safety into consideration.
What About Tankless?
Being much smaller than their counterparts with tanks, these water heaters are both less ostentatious and easier to conceal. The methods you use to hide them are roughly the same but on a smaller scale.
Conclusion
We’ve got water heaters to fit almost any size home. When we meet, we’ll explain all the benefits and drawbacks of each kind of water heater so that you can make a well-reasoned decision about which one to use. We also repair all kinds of water heaters. So, whenever you need water heater service, give us a call at Pride of Tuscon in Tucson, AZ.