This post was written by Allen Brown: Nobody likes it when they have something leaking, especially if it is something that could bring big worries such as your water heater. Here is some advice that you should consider when dealing with such a problem.
What Can Happen
The area surrounding your tank may flood as the tank is regularly refilled due to the water heater leak. Water leaking from your water heater can cause damage to your flooring, sub-floors, and walls even if it is only a small amount. A major flood could result in severe repair costs and personal property damage. Water heater leaks can cause mold and mildew, which can be harmful to your health. You can go to waterheaterleakinginfo.com and consider all the things that you need to do. Leaks in the average home in the United States waste 10,000 gallons of water per year. Worse, 10% of US families have serious plumbing problems, wasting 32,850 gallons of water each year. If your water heater is leaking or dripping, it’s critical to get to the bottom of the problem as quickly as possible. The sooner you do so, the more water, money, and possibly even the water tank will be saved. Leaks won’t go away on their own; instead, they’ll become larger over time. Water damage is difficult to fix and can be costly.
What to Do First
If your water heater leak isn’t visible, you should troubleshoot it first before turning off the water supply. The presence of water beneath your water heater does not indicate that it is leaking. The source might be furnace drain pipes, water softener discharge lines, condensation, or other plumbing. These factors can easily give the impression that your water heater is leaking when, in fact, the issue isn’t with your water heater at all. If you can’t figure out where the water came from, dry the area and cover it with paper towels or newspapers. If the water comes back and you still can’t find the source, your water heater is most likely leaking.
Close the Water Supply
After you’ve determined that your tank is leaking, you’ll need to close the shut-off valve (shut off the water). This prevents extra cold water from entering the tank. If you had to re-start the heater, make sure you turned it off before working on the shut-off valve. The shut-off valve is usually positioned on the cold water supply pipe just above the water heater. It could be a gate valve that needs to be turned or rotated or a handle that can be quickly pulled down. Some water heaters do not have a shutdown valve on their water supply pipe, despite the fact that the majority have. In this situation, you may need to use your home’s main shut-off valve to turn off the water. This will turn off all of your house’s incoming water, including the water supply to your water heater.
Turn of the Power
It’s time to switch off the power to your water heater now that you’ve shut off the water. For gas and electric heaters, the procedure is different.
- Gas-powered: On the gas supply pipe, look for the valve. Your water heater is normally only a few feet away from the line. It connects to the gas control valve and is at the bottom. Turn the gas supply line valve clockwise until it stops. This will turn off the water heater’s gas supply.
- Electric: In the household electrical panel, look for the breaker for your water heater. It will be controlled by a separate circuit breaker. Turn off the breaker.
Fixing It
The goal is to locate the source of the water heater leak. When a water heater leaks from the top, the problem may usually be rectified. It’s possible that you’ll be able to fix it yourself. Unfortunately, when your water heater leaks from the bottom, the situation is more likely to be significant, but this isn’t always the case.
If there’s a pool of water on top of your water heater, the leak is most likely originating from the incoming water supply valve, cold water input, or hot water outlet. There’s a bigger probability of a leak if there are pipe connections. The cold and hot water lines should be followed. Is there any water nearby? Are the connections secure? Is there any water leaking around the cold water supply line shut down valve? You can also see whether the problem is the T&P valve, drain valve, internal tank. For all of these, if you don’t know how to replace them yourself, or you have difficulties doing it, you should call in a plumber because you could do more harm than good.
Hopefully, these tips will help you with your problem. And be careful, sometimes the problem is not so harmless, and if you have any worries, better call the experts.