Clemmons grew quickly from the 1990s on, and its newer homes with garages and attics are well suited to tankless water heaters. Soft water from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities keeps scale slow, and permits go through the joint City-County Inspections Division. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Clemmons.
Clemmons went from roughly 6,000 residents in 1990 to about 21,000 in 2020, and Census survey figures put the village's median home at 1994, with about 29% built before 1980. Many of those houses came with a 40- or 50-gallon tank in the garage that is now reaching the end of its life, which is when most owners start asking about tankless.
What to do now
- Read the display. If you already have a tankless unit, note any error code and whether it shows up at one tap or all of them.
- Check the basics. Make sure the gas valve to the unit is open, the outlet it plugs into has power and the intake and exhaust vents outside aren't blocked by leaves or a wasp nest.
- Clean the inlet screen. Many units have a small filter on the cold water inlet that clogs and cuts flow. Shut the water off before opening it.
- Look at the age of the old tank. If you're planning a switch, the date code on the tank's label tells you how much time you have to plan.
- Think about simultaneous use. Count the showers and appliances that run together on a busy morning so the unit can be sized correctly.
Common symptoms
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Hot water fades when a second shower starts | Unit undersized for winter demand, or a partly closed gas valve |
| Brief cold slug mid-shower | Water cooling in the pipe between uses before the burner relights |
| Unit won't fire at a low-flow faucet | Flow below the unit's minimum activation rate, or a clogged aerator |
| Error code after a few minutes of use | Scale on the heat exchanger, venting problem or a failing sensor |
| Whistling or rattling from the vent | Debris or loose vent pipe |
What affects the cost
For a new installation, the gas line is the big variable. Forsyth County is fully inside Piedmont Natural Gas territory, but a line sized for a tank and furnace may not carry enough gas for a tankless burner. Vent length, a condensate drain for high-efficiency models and any change in the heater's location add to the job. A permit from the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections Division, which lists Clemmons among the towns it serves, is part of a proper install. For repairs, the part and the brand matter most. WSFC's 2025 report gives average hardness of 17.5 ppm, so heavy scale is less common here than in hard-water areas, but units that have never been flushed still build it up.
Tankless Water Heaters questions in Clemmons
How often does a tankless heater need to be flushed?
My tankless unit shows an error code. Is it worth repairing?
How do I know what size tankless unit my house needs?
Who issues the permit for a tankless installation?
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