Responding to a Broken Water Heater

3/26/2022 (Permalink)

Three Steps To Fixing A Broken Water Heater

A leaking water heater is always an inconvenient problem, especially when you were hoping for a warm shower after a cold day in South Carolina. Whenever they take place, however, when water heaters break, you need to act immediately. Take the following steps to prevent expensive damages.

1. Shut off power to the appliance.

If you have a gas water heater, the shutoff switch is probably a dial at the top of the thermostat. If you have an electric appliance, use the circuit breaker. Turning off power to the broken water heater is the best way to ensure safety for yourself, your family, and your home.

2. Shut off the water supply.

You should be able to find a water valve on your failed water heater. Turn it to the right in a clockwise motion until the water stops leaking (or gushing) out of the appliance. If the valve at the heater doesn't stop the water, use the main water supply nozzle for your home.

3. Contact professionals for repairs and cleanup.

There are many potential causes that can lead to a leaking water heater. Even if you're confident in draining the heated water, checking and operating the pressure relief valve, and rinsing out your tank, you may not recognize what caused the failure in the first place. Additionally, if you contact experienced water heater repair professionals, you may also have access to services such as preventing future trouble or repairing parts of the home affected by the flood of water. Finally, you may want to contact your insurance representative. Depending on the extent of the damages, your homeowners' policy may cover some of your costs.

After these three steps have been completed, you can turn the power and the water back on. Although a leaking water heater is an unpleasant experience, it may lead to valuable information about how to protect your Aiken, SC, home in the future.