Water Heater Leaking
Find out where the water is actually coming from. A leak at a fitting, a valve or the relief line is usually a repair. Water coming from the body of the tank itself means the tank has failed and no repair exists.
What to do right now
Do these first. None of them need tools or plumbing knowledge, and they limit what this ends up costing you.
Stop and get out if any of these are true
If you smell gas anywhere near the water heater, leave the building immediately. Do not touch any switch, do not use a phone indoors, and call the gas utility from outside before you call a plumber.
- Shut off the water to the heaterThere is normally a valve on the cold inlet pipe at the top of the tank. Turn it clockwise. If there is none, shut the main.
- Cut the energy to itElectric heaters have a dedicated breaker: switch it off so the elements cannot fire in a draining tank. Gas heaters have a control dial: turn it to off or pilot.
- Work out where the water is coming fromDry everything, then watch. Water from a fitting or the relief pipe is a repair. Water appearing from the base of the tank shell itself is a failed tank.
- Photograph everything before you clean upPhotos and a short video of the water, the source and every damaged item. If you claim on insurance this is the evidence, and it cannot be recreated once the area is dry.
Does this need a plumber tonight?
- Water coming from the tank body itself
- Water spreading across a floor and reaching anything electrical
- Any smell of gas near the heater
- Water near a furnace or an electrical panel
- A relief valve discharging continuously
- A drip at a fitting you have isolated
- A relief valve that discharged once and stopped
- Condensation on the tank in humid weather
Where the leak is decides everything
Fittings, valves and the relief line are all repairable. The tank shell is not. That distinction is the entire diagnosis and it takes about ten minutes to establish properly.
The most common repairable causes are the inlet or outlet connections, the drain valve at the base, and the temperature and pressure relief valve. All are parts.
The tank shell is different. A steel tank protected by a sacrificial anode eventually rusts through once the anode is consumed, and at that point the only answer is replacement. Anyone who offers to repair a rusted through tank is not being straight with you.
- Inlet or outlet fitting, repairable
- Drain valve at the base, repairable
- Relief valve or its discharge pipe, repairable
- Condensation on a cold tank, not a leak at all
- Tank shell perforated by corrosion, replacement only
The relief valve deserves its own note
A relief valve that discharges is usually doing its job. The question is why it needed to, and the answer is often excessive pressure rather than a faulty valve.
Replacing a discharging relief valve without checking the system pressure treats the symptom and removes the safety device that was warning you. If yours is discharging repeatedly, have the supply pressure measured.
Never cap or plug a relief discharge pipe. It exists to prevent a tank failure and blocking it is genuinely dangerous.
What water heater work costs
[PLACEHOLDER: PRICING] Pending from the client.
A valve or fitting repair is modest. A replacement is a larger planned job and, unless the tank has failed and is flooding, it is not a decision to make at midnight.
A dedicated water heater resource covers replacement options in more depth than this page does.
Questions people ask about this
Can a leaking water heater be repaired?
If the leak is at a fitting, a valve or the relief line, yes. If water is coming from the tank body, no. Nothing repairs a perforated steel tank and anyone who says otherwise is selling you a delay.
Is it going to burst?
Tanks very rarely rupture dramatically. They rust through and leak, which is messy rather than dangerous. The genuine hazards are gas and the relief valve being blocked.
Should I turn the gas off?
Turn the control dial to off or pilot. Do not touch the gas supply line itself, and if you smell gas at all, leave the building and call from outside.
There is water under it but the tank looks fine.
Check the relief discharge pipe and the drain valve first, and rule out condensation. Water finds the lowest point and may have travelled from elsewhere entirely.
If that is not quite what you have
Not sure how urgent this is?
Describe what you can see and hear. We will tell you whether it needs someone tonight, and what to do in the meantime either way.
Emergency line: [PLACEHOLDER: PHONE]
Or send it over
Four things and a photo.