The first ten minutes
Do these in order. Skip any step that puts you in standing water near electricity.
Close the cold supply valve
It's on the pipe that enters the top of the tank. Closing it stops the refill. If it won't turn, close the main shutoff for the house.
Shut off the energy to the heater
On a gas unit, turn the control knob to off or pilot. On an electric unit, switch off its breaker at the panel, but only if you can reach the panel without standing in water.
Open a hot faucet upstairs
That relieves pressure in the system, so the tank drains slowly through the leak instead of spraying.
Get belongings off the wet floor
Boxes, rugs and furniture legs wick water. Lift them onto blocks or carry them out of the room.
Photograph the tank label and the leak
The data plate shows the age and model. Your insurer and any plumber will want it.
Worth knowing
- Where tanks usually fail
- The bottom seam, from rust inside, or the fittings and relief valve at the top
- How to read the age
- The serial number on the data plate usually encodes the year; manufacturers publish how to read it
- Water from the relief valve
- Discharge from the side pipe can mean high pressure or temperature, not a failed tank; have it checked
- Drain pan
- Handles small drips but can't hold the contents of a failed tank
Where the water goes in a typical Lakewood basement
In older ranches and split-levels, someone often walled off the utility room later, when they finished the rest of the basement. The floor drain, if there is one, may sit in a corner far from the tank, and decades of settling may have tilted the slab away from it. Water from a failed tank takes the lowest path, which often runs under the wall into a carpeted rec room or bedroom instead of into the drain.
The utility room wall usually sits on the slab with a wood bottom plate, so that plate and the drywall above it get wet even when the carpet next door feels only a little damp. The carpet pad on the far side of that wall is usually the first material that has to come out.
Before the new heater goes in
- Have someone take moisture readings on the wall plates and drywall around the utility room.
- Pull back the carpet in the rooms next door to check the pad and tack strip.
- Ask the plumber whether the floor drain is clear and whether a pan with a drain line would help.
- Ask whether a leak sensor or automatic shutoff valve makes sense for the new unit.
- Confirm whether the replacement needs a permit from the City of Lakewood or your local building department.
Common questions
Can I reuse a water heater that sat in a puddle?
If the tank itself leaks, it needs replacing. If the water came from somewhere else and the heater sat in it, the controls and burner may be damaged, so have a qualified plumber inspect it before you use it again.
General information for Lakewood, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.