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Follow these emergency steps to shut off a leaking water tank.
For gas water heaters, turn the dial located on the thermostat to either the PILOT or OFF position. The thermostat is the square metal box located near the bottom of the water heater. (pictured on the left)
For electric water heaters, proceed to the electrical panel and turn off the breaker supplying power to the water heater. In older homes you may have to remove a glass fuse. The proper breaker or fuse should be marked as water heater, water tank, hot water tank, hot water heater or HWT.
Turn the incoming cold water off at the valve located just above the water heater. The valve is located on the cold water line which is usually located on the right hand side. This valve will have to be turned to the right or clockwise.
If you have a shut off valve which looks like the one with the green handle, the handle will have to be turned a quarter turn to be perpendicular or at a right angle to the water line.
Next, attach one end of a garden hose to the drain valve which is located near the bottom of the water heater. The other end of the hose can then be placed into the floor drain or sump pit.
Once this is completed, the drain valve can be opened. Caution: the water may be hot! You may notice that very little water is exiting the hose and into the drain. This is because a vacuum has been created which will be resolved in the next step. Note: The drain valve on some models requires a standard screw driver to open it.
In order for the water to drain out of the water heater, a hot water faucet must be opened anywhere in the home and left open until the water heater is completely drained. If everything is done properly up to this point, then there should be no water at all coming out of any hot water faucet when it is opened.
By opening up a hot water faucet, air will enter the water heater through the faucet which will allow the tank to start draining. Once the tank is completely drained (approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour) both the drain valve and the hot water faucet can be closed.
Now that you were able to stop the leaking, simply contact City Wide
and we will take care of the rest!
Send us a message and our team will get back to you ASAP
