Water heater is an irreplaceable appliance in any home since it provides us with, well, hot water needed for taking a shower or enjoying a bath, as well as for doing our daily chores like washing dishes, laundering, etc.
However, having a water heater left open in your house may significantly decrease the appearance of the interior! So what shall you do?
The most suitable solution would be to hide the unit, this is why a water heater enclosure is such a popular thing among the homeowners. With the help of a decorative hot water heater cover, you will be able to both hide the heater and keep your home look stunning!
This is why today we are going to share a few simple ideas with you on how to hide your water heater both indoors and outdoors so that it won’t disturb anyone’s eyes.
Water Heater Cover Ideas
If you realize that you need to hide your water heater, you will definitely start looking for the most suitable way of doing so.
And this is when most of the homeowners begin to wonder what type of hiding cover is better, and whether they can use the same cover for indoor and outdoor use.
Well, we must say at once that there are two major ways you can take when thinking of hiding your water heater.
- Use screens/covers to hide a hot water heater
- Use sheds for hiding an outdoor object
But in order to inform you better, we are going to explain in detail what types of enclosure exist and when each of them should be used. So off we go!
Outdoor Hot Water Heater Enclosure Ideas
If you want to find the best water heater cover for hiding this object out of your house, you can opt for one of the following alternatives:
- Outdoor water heater enclosure shed
- Outdoor water heater closet
An outdoor water heater enclosure shed is usually used in the houses that have water heaters located outside of the building already. In such homes, in order to protect the water heater from any external factors (such as bad weather conditions, etc), enclosure sheds are used mostly.
On the other hand, if you have a tankless hot water heater in your home, you might want to make use of other hot water heater enclosure ideas. One of the most widely used options is to use a water heater outdoor closet.
The big benefit of this closet is that it normally comes with the tankless water heater already! This closet is built-in and it is made of aluminum.
Thus it is designed to withstand different weather changes, for example, high speed winds, rains, snowfalls, etc. Another positive aspect is that it already comes with the appliance which means that you don’t have to bother about buying it and installing it.
Related: 5 Methods | How to Turn Off Baseboard Heater?
Indoor Water Heater Cover Ideas
Unlike the outdoor water heater hiding ideas, you might want to opt for somewhat different ways if you need to hide your water heater inside of the house!
Since a water heater definitely does not make your interiors look better, you might definitely want to cover it somehow to make it invisible for yourself and for those who come to visit you.
In terms of this, there are two major ways of hiding this appliance in your home:
- Indoor water heater enclosure
- Indoor water heater cover
Using a cover will be much easier since it requires less time and effort to install it. As for the full enclosure, it will require more of your elbow grease, but on the other hand, your water heater will be hidden more than just properly!
So if you decide to make use of a cover, you can simply opt for curtains or screens. They are the cheapest and the simplest types of enclosure you can find. You can add a sliding curtain as a divider, but first, you will have to do some preparatory work.
For example, you will first need to measure the height of the wall in order to determine proper curtain length and width. When doing this, make sure you give a few inches of clearance so that the curtain does not touch the heater!
When you are done with taking measures, rails must be installed along the ceiling for the curtain to hang from.
Also, you need to keep in mind that curtains will work much better in the garage or in a partially finished (or unfinished) basement. For the busy rooms, they are definitely not the best solution!
In case you are looking for a decorative water heater cover, screens are the default go-to.
These dividers can be tall standing shutters or traditional divider screens.
Since they are freestanding, such a nature of screens make them easy to move. Also, the structures can easily be painted, papered, or left in their original appearance if you want it to be like this.
However, if you need to hide your hot water heater in a room that is quite busy, or your heater is located in a finished basement, for example, you might want to opt for somewhat different solutions. read on to learn for which exactly!
To summarize everything, check out out comparative chart:
| Hiding method | Durability | Best rooms | Worst rooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinet | High | Finished basement, garage, kitchen | Unfinished basement, garage (storage only) |
| Closet | High | Finished basement, bedroom, garage, kitchen | garage (storage only) |
| Curtain | Low | Unfinished basement | Kitchen, finished basement |
| Screen | Low/Moderate | Unfinished basement, garage | Kitchen |
Indoor Water Heater Full Covers
So, when you need to hide your water heater appliance in a finished basement, in your kitchen, or in a busy laundry room, for example, it is often best to create a full enclosure.
Closets and cabinets will make an excellent way to cover up the heater in a more permanent and aesthetic manner.
As for the cabinets, they can work as a great enclosure, especially in the kitchen or in a finished basement!
These types of enclosures tend to be all-metal and have a slightly more industrial feel, although wooden cabinets are also available if metal is not the material you would like to see in your kitchen or laundry.
Some cabinets are recessed, while others are freestanding structures. Here you can choose whatever you prefer. Purchasing a cabinet for hot water heater storage isn’t the cheapest option though, but it will last for a really long time!
Closets are another option that makes them the most popular way to hide that water heater in your home!
Some apartments store the furnace and water heater in bedroom closets. In this case, the closet door will match any other closet so guests will be none the wiser.
If you decide to make use of a closet, the advantage to using it will be that you can easily build one around the heater or add closet doors to an existing enclosure. It works in just about any room of the home, even the kitchen, without drawing attention.
So now you know what basic types of enclosure exist for hiding your water heater both indoors and outdoors.
With such a variety of options, you will easily decide what sort of enclosure you need depending on the location of your appliance.
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