Is Your Water Heater Safe After High Water?
Water heaters sit low in garages and utility rooms, so they're often the first appliance floodwater reaches. Here's how to tell whether yours needs attention.
Request a plumberDon't restart it yet
If floodwater touched the burner, the gas control or the electrical cover, leave the heater off. Damaged controls can be dangerous.
Read the label
The rating label shows the model, serial number, size and fuel type. Note these for the plumber.
Find its age
Most makers code the manufacture date into the serial number. Search the brand with "serial number date" to decode it.
Repair or replace
A heater that sat in floodwater often has damaged insulation and controls. If it's also older, replacement is usually the sensible choice.
Raise the new one
When replacing a heater in a flood-prone garage, ask about a raised stand and where controls will sit.
Next step
Send the label details with your request. See water heater repair.
Expansion tanks
A new heater may need an expansion tank so water has room to expand as it heats. Ask the plumber whether yours needs one and whether the relief valve line runs to a safe spot outside or to a drain.
Insurance photos
Before the old heater is hauled away, photograph its label and the water line on the tank or wall. Those pictures can help with an insurance claim and show the plumber how high the water reached.
Electric heaters
Electric heaters have elements and thermostats behind access panels near the bottom and top of the tank. If water reached the lower panel, the wiring and thermostat may be damaged even if the heater seems to work. Leave the breaker off until it's checked.
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