What to do when first noticing your water heater is leaking in an apartment, condo or townhouse.

What do you do when you first notice you water heater is leaking in an apartment, condo or townhouse?

Follow these important steps!!! If your unit is above other units and can leak- damage your lower neighbors this is what you need.

1) Turn off fuel source.
How do I turn power or gas off to a water heater?

For Electric water heater you need to turn the power source off, usually from the electrical service panel. Hopefully it’s marked. (Turning off electric water heaters is necessary, if you don’t it’s elements will blow)
For Gas water heaters you look for the gas valve near the tank, and shut if off. The gas pipe is the 1/2″ black pipe leaving and must have a valve near by. (Turning off the gas is not completely necessary, but a good idea if you can)

2) Turn off water supply.
How to turn water off to a water heater?

There should be a valve right above “the cold water line” of the tank, if you’re looking at it straight a head the cold water line is on the right. Once turned off this will prevent the water heater from Re-Filling.
If you notice more than one valve above the water heater. Always start with the newer looking valves first, sometimes valves go bad and lazy plumbers will install a new working one right above or below the old one without removing it.
If you don’t see any shut off valves about the water heater and you need to turn the water off quickly you’ll need to locate the Main Shut Off Valve to the home. For townhouses, condos, & apartments this main shut off valve can be found anywhere, usually within the same room as the water heater, but on a bigger diameter pipe. It can also be located in your kitchen, in a Landry room, even under a bathroom vanity. The location is determine by the lay out of the complex and where the water lines run, which can be anywhere.
If you’re in a complete panic turn off every valve you see, or better off yet talk to your neighbor and see if he or she can help you, or call the property management company. If it’s a real emergency and water is on the move don’t be shy, scream and yell for help and someone hopefully will.

3) Deal with water.
How to deal with water leaking out of water heater?

Even though we turned off the water, and prevented new water from refilling the tank, the tank is still filled with 40-50 gallons of water. If you have someone living right below your unit, you need to call a plumber right away to bring a pump and drain it down quickly.
If you’re desperate to empty yourself you will need a long hose. One end of the hose must be connected to the bottom of the tank, the other stuck out of a door, back door, front door wherever- the hose must remain low on the floor in order to completely drain the tank, and of course the house must be outside somewhere so the water can dump out safely. (Don’t forget the water’s still very hot & will burn the grass/ kill plants)
If the leak is slow or you’re on the ground floor and you have a little more time to deal with the water heater all you want to do is prevent the water from going all over the place. Simply grab a few towels and create a damn around the bottom of the tank. If you have a cement floor it will suck up a decent amount of water naturally.

4) Call a local plumber.
How to get quotes for a water heater replacement in an apartment, condo, or townhouse?

If you live in Connecticut call us. 203-376-5208
If you’re in the Greater NYC area give us a call. 800-524-4280
If you’re in New Jersey give us call, we personally know a few companies.
We have a lot of friends, if you’re on the East Coast we might be able to make a recommendation for a plumber near you.

If you live in Connecticut call us for a free quote!
Yes, we are a “normal” plumbing company, only difference is we specialize in water heaters and this site is where we blog about them on this site in order to meet new clients like you.

We carry all the major water heater brands in our area such as Rheem, Ruud, Bradford white, State, A.O. Smith, Bock, Thermaflow, Everhot,

High efficiency water heater options for apartments, condos, townhouses.
The most important thing with exploring a high efficiency option is the space required or the installation location.
Heat pump water heaters like the Rheem HP50 are the perfect replacements for conventional electric water heaters, cost half to run and have other great benefits. However heat pump water heaters require at least 700 sq f of area to work properly so they can’t be installed in a closed in space like a bedroom closet.
Tankless water heaters such as Navien, Noritz, Eternal, like all the best tankless heaters need to be direct vented, which requires drilling at least 1- 2″ hole, 1- 4″ hole, and some models require 2-3″ holes on an outside wall or out the roof and this can sometimes a major issue with the association.