Questions · Water heaters
Why is my water heater leaking?
Find where the water starts. A drip at the supply connectors, the drain valve or the temperature and pressure valve is a repair. Water appearing at the base or seam of the tank is the tank itself, and that means replacement. Shut the water to the heater first, then look.
Do this first
- 01
Close the cold water shutoff on top of the heater, the handle on the cold inlet
- 02
On a gas unit, turn the control to the off or pilot setting. On an electric unit, switch off its breaker
- 03
Dry everything you can reach, put paper down, and give it an hour
- 04
Come back and look at where the paper is wet. That tells you the source, and dry metal tells you as much as wet metal
What each source means
- The flexible supply connectors on top: usually a fitting or a washer, and a repair
- The drain valve at the bottom: often a worn valve, and a repair
- The temperature and pressure valve, or its discharge pipe: either the valve, or pressure in the house that is too high. Both are worth finding
- The expansion tank or the regulator nearby: a pressure problem, not a heater problem
- The seam or the base of the tank, with everything above it dry: the tank has failed
The one that is not really the heater
A temperature and pressure valve that keeps letting water go is often doing its job on a house with high water pressure or no working expansion tank. Replacing the valve alone leaves the cause in place. We check the static pressure at a hose bib while we are there. High pressure is behind a lot of these leaks, and that one reading shows it.
From the job log
Work we’ve done
Answers
Is a leaking water heater dangerous?
A slow drip is mostly a damage problem, not a safety one. Water near an electric heater's wiring, a gas burner compartment, or a garage full of stored things is worth shutting down until someone has looked at it.
Can water under the heater come from somewhere else?
Often, yes. Condensate lines, a softener drain, a nearby water line or a garage floor that slopes can all put water under a heater. That is why drying everything and watching where it returns is worth the hour.
The pressure relief valve drips only sometimes. Why?
It usually means pressure climbs when the heater warms and has nowhere to go. That points at house pressure or an expansion tank, and it is worth measuring rather than guessing.
If you need this done
- Water heater repairNo hot water, water that runs cold early, noises or a leak? We find the real cause and give you an honest call on repair versus replacement.
- Water pressure and regulatorsPressure checked with a gauge, and regulators repaired or replaced when the house is getting more than the plumbing should take.
- Water heater installOld unit out, new one sized for your household, connected, tested and left to code. Gas or electric, tank or tankless.
- Where we workEvery town and ZIP across the Valley we cover.
In-home estimate
Rather have someone look at it? Tell us what's going on
We come out, look at the problem and explain what it needs before any work starts. For something urgent, calling is fastest.
Rather talk? Call or text (602) 833-4133.