Water Heater Leaking: What Should you Do?

So you head down into the basement utility room and notice a puddle under the water heater that wasn’t there before. What should you do?

What Kind of Leak is It?

The first thing you need to do is determine what kind of leak it is. If you see water spraying out from somewhere, stop reading here and head down to the next section. If water isn’t spraying all over the place, then your leak might not be so bad.

Puddles under the water heater can be caused by the normal operation of the heater. Check to see if your drain valve is what is leaking. If it is, then take the time to tighten it up and see if that fixes the leak.

Cold water filling the tank can cause condensation on the tank. This too can appear to be a leak when it isn’t. If you have just drained the tank and it is filling up, clean up the spill and check back later. If there is still a puddle, or a worse puddle, you might have a leak.

Finally, there is a pressure release valve on your tank. Pressure build up in the tank will cause this valve to open to release pressure, and in doing so release water. If you think it’s the TP valve, reduce the temperature of your water to see if that solves the problem.

Shut Off the Power

Once you’ve determined that there is a problem, it is time to shut down the power to your water heater. Depending on the type, gas or electric, the process might be a bit different. Gas water heaters are going to have an on/off switch. Flip that switch to off.

Electric heaters are going to have a circuit breaker that you throw to turn the power to the heater off. Open the breaker to stop the power from flowing into your heater.

Turn Off the Water

Now that you have killed the power, it is time to stop the leak by stopping the flow of water. Remember, if your tank is spraying water, be careful as the tank’s water is hot.

The easiest way to stop the flow is to cut all of the water to the house at the main cutoff valve. Once this is done, you can locate the specific line that feeds into the hot water tank and close it; then, restore water to the rest of the house.

Drain the Tank and Call a Professional

Your hot water tank will have a drain valve somewhere near the bottom. It looks like a hose hookup, because it is. Hook a garden hose to this and run it to a drain, then open up the valve. This will drain all the water out of the tank.

Now it is time to contact a professional. Click here to get free quotes from HVAC contractors near you that can come and help you with your leaking hot water tank. You’ll receive upfront pricing without having to invite a contractor to your home or even enter your contact information!