A leak in your faucet or under the sink can be quite annoying, but rather simple to diagnose. A leak from the water heater, however—a large system with components you may not be familiar with—may seem downright dangerous. That’s why it’s so important to shut off the water to the water heater and turn off its power supply before doing any work or diagnoses on a leaking water heater.
Once you’ve done this, the most important thing is to determine where, exactly, the leak is coming from. This will help you to find out how serious the problem is and whether anything will need replacement. Your best bet is working with trained plumbers, but we’re here to help with an overview of what to look for in a leaky system. Where is that leak coming from?
When you picture a classic water heater, you likely think of a large tank inside of your basement, a crawlspace, the garage, or elsewhere, full of hot water and lots of external and internal components that keep things running smoothly. This large tank water heater, with all its safety switches and valves, needs regular maintenance—including flushing the tank sometimes if you have hard water. This is something you may have experience with.
