How To Deal With A Leak In The Water Heater

Few things are more frightening than finding a mysterious puddle by your water heater. A giant 50-to-60-gallon tank that holds 125 degree water can cause severe damage if it malfunctions and lets all that water into your house. The good news is that you can fix your water heater, or at least minimize the threat. Here are the steps you need to take to deal with a leak in your water heater.

Stopping The Damage

 1. Find The Water Source

When you first note a puddle under your water heater, dry the area and inspect the heater carefully. If nothing jumps out at you, put a dry towel underneath your water heater and wait a day. If you have a leak somewhere, the towel will get wet and you will be able to trace it back to its source.

2. Turn Off The Power

If you have determined that the water is leaking from your heater, turn it off. If it is electric, switch off the power at the circuit breaker. If it is gas-powered, turn off the gas at the base of the tank.

3. Turn Off The Water

Most water heaters have valves above them that control the flow of water into them. Turn this off. If you can’t reach the valve, you might have to shut off the water for the whole house.

4. Determine The Source Of The Problem And Fix It

This step is necessarily vague as there are a number of things that can go wrong with a water heater. A variety of them are listed below. In general terms though, valves and fittings can wear away and need replacing.

Possible Sources Of The Leak

1. The temperature pressure relief valve (the little lever at the bottom that drains water to a safe place when the pressure gets too high in the tank) can wear down after years of use. Lift the lever and see if that stops the leak. If it doesn’t, the valve will need replacing.

2. The pipes leading to the inlet and outlet of your tank may have gotten corroded. The damaged lengths will need replacing.

3. A washer on the drain valve may wear away and need replacing, or the drain might just need cleaning up.

4. If water is dripping from the seams in your tank, it is time to replace the water heater.

5. Anode rods might need to be re-screwed in with plumber’s sealing tape.

When To Call A Professional Restoration Company

Whether you had a slow drip from your tank or a sudden flood, the water can do serious damage to your building. It can soak up into dry wall and seep down into the concrete, causing stains and weakness in the structure. A sudden blow out can leave a good inch of water on your floor, and this exposure can warp and weaken wooden parts of the home. Carpet flooring and other features can start bleeding colors and lose shape. Worst, within 24 hours mold spores will start sprouting, leaving their tell-tale smell and causing people with allergies to them to feel sick. If your tank has saturated a part of your house, you want to call a company who can dehumidify your house as soon as the water heater has been taken care of to prevent any of that from happening.

Fortunately, Satin Touch is on call around the clock to dry out your home. If the water damage is severe, we will inventory, pack up, and move your belongings to a warehouse where we can treat it for the water damage. Once it is all safe, we will return it to you.

Satin Touch takes our job of restoring your home seriously and want to help you. If you want to know more about our services, contact us.