Water Heater Leak – What to Do Before the Plumber Arrives
It’s 8 a.m. on a Monday morning and you’re walking into your newly renovated basement office at home. You notice that the carpet is stained, so you bend down to check it out. The carpet is saturated. Then it hits you – this isn’t a stain, it’s a leak! You go into red alert mode to find out where the water is coming from.
Your heart sinks at the sight – there’s an aggressive water heater leak and the water is gushing across the garage floor, out of the door, under the common wall … and into the basement.
What to Do Next
Call a plumber right away. While you’re waiting, do the following:
- Shut off the water supply to the water heater. There’s usually a shutoff valve in the line leading to the heater. If there is, shut it off. If your water heater doesn’t have a valve, or you can’t find it, shut down the water supply to the whole house.
- The water heater tank needs to be depressurized. The easiest way to do this is to open any hot water faucet in your home. Nothing much will come out of the faucet, but it will be sufficient to depressurize the water heater.
- If your water heater is electric, find the circuit breaker or the electrical control switch and turn off the power to the unit. If your water heater is gas-fired, switch off the gas line shutoff valve, as well as the pilot light valve controller/fuel control valve.
When you have done all of the above, the unit will be disabled. When the plumber arrives, he or she can take over.
Want to Conserve Water? Have That Leak Repair Attended to
There is no natural resource that’s more precious than water. However, there’s no other natural resource that’s so misunderstood, misallocated, abused, and misused. Intact ecosystems, safe drinking water, and a stable food chain are just a few things that are compromised when we put our water supply under stress.
We’ve all had water-saving advice pumped into our heads at some time, so we are hopefully primed to be proactive. While there are many high-tech approaches to water conservation, here are some everyday, practical strategies that homeowners can commit to.
Leaks – Get Plumbing Repair Immediately
- Ninety thousand gallons of water can be used by a leaking toilet in a month!
- Twenty gallons of water can be wasted in one day by a dripping faucet! (via treehugger.com)
Install Water-Saving Fixtures
Low-flow showerheads, dual flush or low-volume toilets and water-efficient washing machines and dishwashers can all save huge amounts of water – and money. Water-saving showerheads and faucet aerators can reduce water consumption to 1.2 gallons a minute, or even less. Some fixtures also have pause buttons, so that you can stop the water while shampooing or soaping up.
Develop Good Water Habits
- Every single drop of water (dirty or clean) that goes down the drain mixes with raw sewage and gets contaminated. Keep this in mind when shaving or brushing your teeth.
- Always wash dishes and laundry with full loads. If you wash dishes by hand, put the plug in the sink, fill it up and turn the water off.
- Take shorter showers or, as they say, shower with a friend!
