If you find that your water heater is leaking from the top, don’t panic. More often than not, the water heater leaking from the top of your water heater involves a fairly straightforward solution. To be sure, a leak from the top is far easier to deal with, and usually much cheaper to handle, than a leak coming from the bottom of your water heater.
However, this doesn’t mean you can simply leave the leak to do whatever it pleases. If you do find that you water heater is leaking from the top, you are going to want to deal with the situation as quickly as possible. You can start by figuring out why your water heater is leaking from the top in the first place.
Reasons Why Your Water Heater Is Leaking From the Top
The first step will be to determine the cause of your water heater leaking from the top. Let’s take a look at some of the most common culprits:
• Your cold water inlet valve has begun to leak.
• There is a loose pipe fitted somewhere.
• The temperature/pressure release valve has begun to leak.
• Your anode rod has begun to corrode.
• The expansion tank has begun to leak.
• The tank itself has begun to leak.
At this point, your main challenge will be to figure out which of the above possibilities is the one that applies to your situation. Your first step will be to turn off your water heater. Once you have shut off your water supply to your heater, give the area as much time as possible to dry. If necessary, set aside some time to let the small amounts of water come out of the small crevices that can be found along the connections. When you turn the water back on, you should be able to see the direction from which the water is coming.
If you’re the owner of a gas water heater, make sure your gas valve has been switched over to the off position. You can generally find the valve to do this on the water heater itself. Make certain your ball valve of the gas piping connected to your heater has been turned to a ninety-degree angle. This should be perpendicular to your piping.
For owners of electric water heaters, you will want to shut off your power via your electrical panel. You are now ready to figure out where the leak is actually coming from.
