When To Call In A Plumber?

Homeowners love to avoid wasting time and hassle and should be able to when it comes to working on a water heater. However, there are many circumstances and eventualities which need professional plumbing assistance. If you're handy and ok with mechanics, then some situations concerning water heaters can be handled by you.

Before doing plumbing work you need to perform these safety steps:

Turn the electricity off if you've got an electric water heater or turn the gas control knob to PILOT if you've got a gas water heater.

Find the cold water line on top of the water heater and turn the gate valve off. The cold line is always found on the right hand side as you are facing the water heater.

Open a hot tap within the house at any sink. This relieves pressure on the lines.

Twist the knob on the drain valve to open it on the water heater. It's found at the bottom of the water heater and is like a hose bib. Drain out a gallon of water from the water heater, so it isn't totally full at the plumbing connections on top.

Tell everybody in the house or building to use cold water only.

Whenever removing electric elements on an electric water heater, be sure that the electricity is turned off.

Whenever replacing the drain valve on a gas or electric water heater, be sure to turn the gas control knob to PILOT or to turn the electricity off.

Check the gas connections on your gas water heater by spraying liquid glass cleaner on them. If you've got a gas leak. The glass cleaner will spit and foam slightly if you've a gas leak.

At this point you need to be careful that the the gas fumes do not backdraft into the house. When the gas fumes from a gas water heater travel up and out the draft diverter on top of the gas water heater, they are going to the exterior of your place thru a vent. The fumes can sometimes be pulled back to a chimney flue, an open window, or an air conditioner. If you smell rotten eggs inside your place, call a plumber or the gas company immediately.

If you are insulating your pipes for your water heater, don't cover dielectric unions, fittings, or copper flex lines. The insulation will cause the water to stay on the surface underneath and cause more damage from leaky pipes. Never put insulation on the tin draft diverter found above the gas water heate. The insulation can ignite.

If you know you've got a recirculating loop for you water heater, it's a good idea to have a ball valve before the point where the loop connects to you water heater. If you've got any kind of pump found on this line, have a plumbing professional install a ball valve before the pump also.

Again, if you are not certain of your capability to work on a water heater in any way, get a professional service technician to help you.