Willa, we recommend speaking with a professional plumber in your area. They will be able to assist with the purchase and install of a water softener to help with the hard water you are experiencing.

I would start by performing a flow test at your shower head. Get a 5 gallon bucket and open your shower head full open and time how long it takes to fill bucket. If you fill the bucket say in 1 minute, this means you are emptying 50 gallon tank in less than 10 minutes. (Divide 50 by number of minutes) Keep in mind as you use hot water, it is replaced with cold water, so hot water temp is dropping from the moment you start. Secondly, you most likely temper your hot water with cold which then extends this time. In short this is just a guide but tells you how long it takes to empty tank. If this works out that your emptying bucket in shorter time than your shower, concider checking flow restrictor on your shower head. If this is not the case then call the installer of hot water heater.  

Both of the previous are great ideas. Also consider, if it is an older valve, that the main does not close completely, for a variety of possible reasons. We see that alot in older homes. You can confirm this by checking other fausets to see if they continue to drip after you have tried the above proceedures. 

Remember if you drain the system as suggested before, to properly refill it, to get rid of the air in the system, or you could have "water hammer" issues as well.

Yes, contact the installer. Hae them check it. Just from the sound, it could be anything from a bad heating element, malfunctioning thermostat, to being plumbed backward, to name a few. Either way somone qualified to diagnose and repaitr the problem needs to look at it.

I would recommend contacting the company that installed the water heater

What make & model is your new water heater?

Hello Bin,

If you have not done so already, it helps to drain the system at the lowest point.  Meaning apply the shut off valve first, open the faucet at the lowest point (usually in the basement or hose bib) so the system can drain, then open a faucet at the highest point.  This will allow air into the system and allow it to drain more quickly.  Much like releasing your finger off the top of a full drinking straw.

We hope it helps!

It depends on the faucet and whether the faucet has an aereator. Even when the valve is turned into the off positions, there is still some residual water in the faucet, and aereator. Once all of the water on the room side of the faucet has drained out, the dripping will stop. 

I don't know but there is some mojor problem with my sewer main line. I think it is severly clogged and think that only a professional can fixed it. Which is the best trenchless sewer repairs in NJ.

We like to use a sanded caulk that matches the grout for that seam between the countertop and backsplash. The flexibility of the caulk allows it to expand and contract without cracking out like normal grout. It's not a forever fix and needs to be touched up occasionaly, but it's a much better solution than just grouting that joint.

The trick with caulking is to spray the wet caulking with Windex and then tool it with your finger.  For "rookies" you may want to use masking tape.  Here is a YouTube video that might help, too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPGKdwnHhaE