Descaling on Stallings water
Manufacturers write one descaling interval for the whole country, and it is set for hard water. Yours comes from Union County Water, and where that supply is soft the exchanger fouls considerably more slowly than that schedule assumes.
We will tell you honestly where you sit on that, because the alternative is descaling a unit annually that does not need it. Two caveats worth knowing before you skip it entirely: some manufacturers require documented annual servicing to keep the heat exchanger warranty valid, which is worth more than the service costs, and a property on a private well is a completely different conversation from one on the municipal supply.
- Descale on an interval that matches your actual water rather than the manual's default.
- Inlet filter clean, which is the most commonly skipped job and the cheapest.
- Flow rate and combustion check, so a declining unit is caught before it fails in January.

What Stallings itself changes
The housing in Stallings
Stallings has the single highest concentration of target-age housing anywhere in the Charlotte metro: 62.6% of the stock was built between 1990 and 2009, with a median build year of 2002. Practically every original water heater in the town has already been replaced once, and that second unit is now reaching the end of its own life.
Where the heaters sit
Garage and closet installs dominate, with attic units in the larger builds. Straightforward access and predictable pricing across most of the town.