If the water heater is leaking
- Turn off the cold water valve on top of the heater. If you cannot reach it, shut the main valve for the house.
- Turn off power at the breaker for an electric heater, or turn a gas heater's control to "off" or "pilot."
- Do not try to move or drain a tank that is still hot.
- If the heater is in the attic or a second floor closet, check the ceiling below for stains or sagging.
Most tank water heaters last somewhere around eight to twelve years. Rust at the bottom of the tank, water in the drain pan, or popping and rumbling sounds are signs it is near the end.
Signs of a slab leak
A slab leak is a break in a water line that runs under the concrete foundation. Signs include:
- A warm spot on a tile or wood floor, which usually means a hot water line.
- Wood or laminate floors that cup, buckle or feel damp with no visible source.
- The sound of running water when everything is off.
- A water bill that jumps for no reason, or a meter that keeps spinning with all fixtures off.
A plumber locates and repairs the line. The restoration crew dries the flooring, baseboards, cabinets and walls the water reached.
Have this ready when you call
- What is leaking, if you know: a supply line, the water heater, a toilet, the roof, a crawl space or a drain.
- Whether the water is clean or looks and smells like sewage.
- Which rooms and floors are wet, including the crawl space or basement, and about how long it has been wet.
- Whether the main water valve is off and the power to wet rooms is off.
- Your road or subdivision in Cumming or Forsyth County, so a crew close to you picks up.
Most calls take a couple of minutes. Stay on the line and you will be matched with a local company that can send someone out.
Free to call. You are not signing up for anything.
Water heater and slab leaks in Cumming homes
A lot of the homes in Forsyth County were built in the same twenty-year stretch, which means a lot of original water heaters reached the end of their life around the same time. In many of these houses the heater sits in the garage, a basement utility room, or an attic. Attic heaters are the ones that cause the most damage, because a failure sends water through the ceiling and into the rooms below.
Slab homes are common on the flatter lots around Cumming. Water lines under a slab can wear thin where they rub against concrete or rebar, and hot water lines that expand and contract every day wear fastest. A pinhole leak under the slab can run for weeks before it shows up as a damp baseboard, cupped hardwood or a warm spot in the kitchen floor.
Water from both sources tends to soak in slowly, so by the time it is found it has often reached the bottoms of cabinets and the drywall behind them. That is where mold starts in Georgia's humidity.
If your water bill suddenly climbs, check the meter with every fixture off. If it keeps moving, you have a leak somewhere, and it is worth finding before the floors show it.