How to Fix a Leaking Water Heater: Common Causes and DIY Solutions

A leak in your water heater can start with a trickle and turn into a pool of water on the floor. This could damage your floor, sub floors and dry walls. Therefore, it is better to find the source of leak and fix your leak to stop further damage. There are a few common causes of leak. You can easily inspect those areas and try your hands at fixing them before calling the plumber for professional help.

  1. Drain Valve: One of the most common reasons behind a leaking water heater is a loosened drain valve. It is located at the bottom of the tank. Its work is to drain the sediment from the water heater. If you find leak there, then you are saved from a big trouble as you just need to replace the drain valve, which is quite inexpensive.

 

  1. Hot and Cold-Water Inlet and Outlet connection points: If you find leak at these points of the heater, the first step is to check for the loosened connections. For loosened connections, you just need to tighten them with a help of a wrench. If the connections have become corroded, you need to replace the fittings. Check for corrosion in the tank too. If such is the case, its time to buy a new water heater.

 

  1. Cold water inlet valve: If you find water seeping through the cold-water inlet, it is quite a possibility that the nut on the handle of the shut off valve is loose. Just tighten it and check if the leak has stopped. If not, you need to replace the leaking valve.

 

  1. Temperature and Pressure Relief Valve (T&P valve): If you find water dripping from this valve, you’ll need to replace the T&P valve with a new one. Make sure to look for rust and corrosion at the hole before replacing the valve as in such a case you must replace your water heater. If you find any rust or corrosion, your water heater needs to be replaced.

Steps to replace a valve:

  1. Turn off the water heater.
  2. Shut off the water supply and drain some of the water from the tank.
  3. Lift the little lever on the valve to discharge any remaining pressure.
  4. Unscrew the valve with a wrench and replace it with a new one.
  5. Wrap Teflon tape on the threads of the new valve to seal it before you screw it into the water heater.
  6. Refill and turn on the water heater and check if its working fine.

If the problem persists, it is recommended to call a professional problem to get the issue fixed without further damage.