Videoscopy And Home Inspection · Exploring The Hidden Parts Of A House

The Videoscope/Borescope is an important addition to our home inspection tool inventory, allowing us to reach areas that are normally out of sight and difficult to access.

As part of our advanced home inspection the Extech HDV650-10G Videoscope allows us to have a better look at:

• Plumbing - in case we suspect that there might be problems that need further investigation.
• Air ducts - can be checked for integrity, dust and mold.
• Rain water drains - our cameras allow us to have a very good look inside and make sure the next storm won’t take you by surprise.
• Water heaters - with the help of the videoscope we can check their condition from the inside. Why is this important? Because water in our area is VERY hard...

According to the table below, the municipal water in Playa del Carmen, Cancún & Riviera Maya is "steel hard" (the natural well water exceeds by far even the highest levels, in some cases it reaches 1200 ppm):

Municipal water in Playa del Carmen is 700 ppm (parts per million) putting a lot of strain on the water heaters - that’s because lime builds up much faster in hot water as the table below shows us:

This is why, unless you have a water softener installed, it is better to set your water heaters thermostat between 120F/49C and 140F/60C. This will minimize lime deposit and maintain the efficiency of your gas or electric boiler.

Most of us don't know that water heaters have what is called a sacrificial anode that is basically a magnesium or aluminum rod molded around a steel core that screws on top of the heater. It's purpose is to prevent the tank from corroding. When the water heater is filled, an electrochemical process starts that corrodes the sacrificial anode in order to keep the tank interior in good condition.

How a corroded sacrificial anode looks:

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