The most common things that will go bad on a water heater are the elements, the tank, and the burner if it the unit is oil fired. The best thing to do is to protect your water heater by preforming proper preventive maintenance which would include calling a licensed service professional to preform these tasks on a scheduled basis.
You can take simply steps like draining the water heaters sediment twice a year and also make sure that the water heater is installed in a protected environment as well. Many people don’t think twice about the area that the water heater is installed, when in fact if you install the water heater in a moist or damp location you can be in for a surprise when the tank on the water heater starts to rust or corrode beofore long.
You can also cover your hot water heater with a water heater blanket to help the unit hold more heat as well as protecting the water heater to help extend its service life.
