How To Minimize Damages From A Leaking Hot Water Heater

3/18/2022 (Permalink)

No one wants to experience the aftermath of a broken hot water heater! SERVPRO has responded to many emergency water calls where broken hot water heaters have done a tremendous amount of damage to customers’ homes. If you hear funny sounds coming from your hot water heater, investigate and address the issue immediately! Below are some steps you can take to help minimize the impact a broken hot water heater can have on your home.

What Can I Do To Help Minimizing Damage?

Following these mitigation steps can help prevent any further damage to your home.. 

• Shut off the power supply.
• Shut off the water. 
• Drain your water heater. 
• Flip open the pressure-release valve. 
• Rinse the water heater with cold water. 

What Goes Into The Cleanup Process?

After your hot water heater leak has been fixed, it is important to clean up any remaining water or damage that occurred due to the leak. If you allow water to sit for any length of time, it creates warm and moist areas in your home. This can lead to a lot of problems such as the development of mold, germs, fungus, and other types of pathogens. 

Some cleanups can be taken care of with a towel, but larger pools of water require professional extractions. Materials in your home such as carpet, walls, and wood tend to absorb and hold in moisture. To eliminate the possibility of hidden mold growth, SERVPRO will dry out your carpets and areas behind your walls.

In a situation where your leaking water heater has caused a substantial amount of water damage, our professional SERVPRO water mitigation specialists can help keep your water disaster from becoming an ongoing process! If your home isn’t properly dried out within the first 48 hours, you could be looking at substantial damage. We are “Faster to any size disaster” and are “Here to help.”