Water Heaters

What Can I Do If My Water Heater Leaks?

What are some tips to follow if my hot water heater leaks? Rocket Plumbing and Drain lists several steps homeowners can take to fix a leaking hot water heater.

YES calling a professional to act FAST and diagnose the issue is the BEST option however what if I want start to tackle this myself?  Here are some great starting points!

First…..Shut off the Power Supply to the Water Heater.  In order to do so, follow the steps below:

Gas Water Heater- Find your thermostat.  Switch it to OFF or Pilot to shut off the gas and make the water heater safe to work on.

Electric Water Heater- Go to the breaker box and find the breaker labeled “water heater”, it should look similar to this, and flip the switch to shut the breaker off.

Second….Shut off the Water- Turn off the valve leading to your water heater.  Turn it to the right until it closes.  This will shut off the water and allow the heater to be worked on.

Third…Drain the water tank.  If you have a standard tank, draining the heater is the most essential step.  To drain the water heater, you need to find the drain valve at the bottom of your heater and attach a hose to it.  Run the hose outside or to a sump pit.  With the hose in place, open the valve.  Sometimes the water doesn’t flow very well so open up any hot water faucet and this will let air into the tank and allow it to drain more easily.  Once you get good water flow, it usually takes about an hour for this to drain.

Once the water heater is drained we suggest giving our Rocket Plumbing Response Team  a call but if you wanted to try to diagnose further, here are some tips below to help you “start” the diagnostic process yourself!

A number of things can be wrong.  But lets explore some different scenarios that my give you a clue…

Broken Drain Valve– While these will cause water to leak from the bottom of the tank, it is easily fixed with a replacement of the broken drain valve.  Contact the Manufacturer of the Water Heater and ask where you can purchase a new drain valve.  Once purchased, technical support can walk you through the replacement.

Corrosion- Sediment builds up on the bottom of the water heater and over time it can cause the tank to rust.  If a Water Heater Replacement is needed and if you aren’t comfortable trying this yourself, call Rocket Plumbing and Drain experts!

Loose Water Line Connections- Double check that there are no loose water lines.  If there are, you may be able to tighten the connections.

Broken Pressure Valve or Pressure Relief Valve Leaking- If water is coming out the pressure relief valve there could be a number of reasons why.  One reason could be that the expansion tank is broken and therefore too much pressure is getting to the water heater causing the relief valve to overflow.  Because there are many reasons why this can happen, it is probably best to schedule either a Virtual Consult Visit or make an appointment with our team to evaluate!

Call Rocket’s Water Heater Experts for FAST SERVICE Today!! 484.986.5517

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