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Drain Pros TNWoman-owned · TN LLP #5045

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Water Heater Leaking

Water pooling under or around the tank.

Plumbing emergency? Call (423) 413-6876Call (423) 413-6876

Quick answer

Treat this as urgent. If water is coming from the tank body itself, the tank has failed and it will not get better; shut off the water supply to the heater and call. If it is dripping from a fitting or the relief valve, it may be a repair.

Do this right now

  1. 1Shut off the cold water supply valve on top of the heater, turning it clockwise.
  2. 2On a gas unit, turn the gas control to "off". On electric, switch off the breaker.
  3. 3Do not try to drain a hot tank yourself — it is scalding and it is heavy.
  4. 4Move anything that matters off the floor nearby, then call.

A leaking water heater is one of the few plumbing problems that reliably gets worse rather than staying put. Forty or fifty gallons sitting on a floor or a stand is a lot of water, and a tank that has rusted through does not reseal itself.

How you know this is it

  • Water pooling on the floor under or around the tank
  • Rust-coloured staining down the side of the heater or on the stand
  • A steady drip from the pipe running down the side, which is the relief valve discharge
  • Damp or buckling flooring near the heater closet

What usually causes it

  • The tank itself corroded through, which is a replacement, not a repair
  • A failed temperature and pressure relief valve, often a genuine repair
  • Loose or corroded supply connections at the top of the tank
  • A failed drain valve at the bottom
  • Thermal expansion with no expansion tank, pushing the relief valve open repeatedly

Common questions

Water Heater Leaking: your questions answered

Can a leaking water heater be repaired?
If the leak is at a valve or a fitting, often yes. If it is weeping from the tank body, no — the steel has corroded through and no patch holds. We will show you which one it is.
How much water is actually in there?
Typically forty to fifty gallons in a residential tank, and it does not stop at that if the supply is still open. That is why the first step is shutting the cold inlet.
Why did it fail? It was not that old.
Hard water is the usual answer around here. Scale accelerates corrosion and shortens tank life noticeably across Bradley and McMinn County. If that is what killed this one, we will talk about treatment so the next one lasts longer.
Will I know the price before you start?
Yes. You get one number to approve before any work begins, and it holds once the job starts. This market has a documented habit of quotes climbing mid-job; we built the opposite habit deliberately.
Are you licensed?
Yes. Tennessee Limited Licensed Plumber #5045, issued by the state Board for Licensing Contractors and verifiable at verify.tn.gov. Across eighteen local competitors, not one publishes their number.

Related problems

No Hot WaterPilot Light Will Not Stay Lit

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