If you find a pool of water underneath your water heater what do you do? In this blog post we’ll try to give you basic instructions and steps with short explanations.
It might not be a leak
The first thing you need to consider is that it might not be a leak. Water heaters tend to produce condensation on the tank. So the first thing you want to do is just check the tank for any moisture. If you find some then this could be the cause for the leak.
If you didn’t discover any moisture, it’s advisable to look somewhere else.
It might be a plumbing fixture or a pipe
The next thing to consider is that you may have a leak somewhere else. Water heaters are usually surrounded by other plumbing fixtures and other pipes. So one of those might be leaking, check those for any possible leaks.
If not, then your water heater might be the real source for the leak.
The first thing to do is shut off the power. If you have an electric water heater, locate your circuit breaker panel. There should be a switch for the water heater. If you have a gas water heater like, then you want to locate the pilot and turn it off.
If you experience a serious leak, the next step is going to be to turn off the cold water supply. The shut off valve is usually located above the unit and it’s often a red handle.
You would turn to the side and set it off. You may also find a gate valve and a dial that you’ll need to turn. Clockwise to close. Just be careful about hot water. It can get very hot up 290 degrees Fahrenheit. This can cause serious burns.
So if you can’t get to the water shut-off valve safely, you want to locate the main shut off valve of your house and turn that off.
What to do if leak isn’t serious
Now if the leak isn’t serious and you’re not sure exactly where the leak is coming from you may want to leave the water on just for now so we can investigate a little bit and try to locate the source of the leak. The first place you want to check are the inlet and outlet pipes leading from your hot water tank.
Loose connections?
It may just be a loose connection that you just need to tighten up. Not a serious problem. So check there first.
The next place you’ll want to check is the temperature and pressure relief valve, which is located on the side of the tank. This valve is designed to let out water if there is too much pressure or the water is heated too much. So if it’s leaking from here, it’s possible that the tank got too much pressure.
Check around the edges of the valve to make sure it’s watertight. The valve itself should follow the pipe to the floor and see if there’s any water actually leaking out of the valve down below. In this case your valve might be faulty or like mentioned above, there may be too much pressure in the tank.
Drain valve
The next place you want to check is the drain valve. This is used to drain or flush. The water heater again life not faulting is working properly.
Bottom
Finally, we want to check the bottom of the water heater. This is where most leaks appear.
If you have a leak coming from the bottom of your tank, it’s likely that you have an internal problem with your water heater. In this case, most likely you will have to Water Heater Replacement once you diagnose leak, shut off the cold water supply if you haven’t already and call a professional plumber.
