Continuing with the theme of following my own advice, I bought a hot water heater blanket and installed it last weekend. The basic idea is that by adding an extra insulating layer around the hot water tank, you will keep it warmer, longer. If your hot water tank feels warm to the touch, you probably need to turn down the thermostat — and add an extra blanket of insulation.
The blanket is just a sheet of insulation about three inches thick with a piece of plastic on the outside. It's very easy to install — you just wrap it around the tank and tape it on with duct tape. It needs to be tight around the tank, of course — as you can see in the picture below, I had to squeeze it under the pipes around the tank.
It is very important, however, that you don't cover up the water heater's top, bottom, thermostat, or burner.
Also, don't cover up the drain, either.
A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.
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