Become Familiar With The Procedure For Turning Off Your Water Heater During An Emergency
A common question asked by our clients is how to turn off their hot water heater on their own.
This is one of the procedures all homeowners should be aware of including how to shut off their gas and water supply. If your water heater is acting peculiar such as making knocking noises or is overheating, allowing it to continue operating may worsen the problem.
To avoid the risk of your water heater leaking or completely failing by flooding your room or garage, it is a safe choice to turn it off and have one of our plumbing technicians inspect it.
Call Donnelly’s Plumbing Heating and Cooling to examine your hot water heater to determine if it needs repairs or if it should be replaced.
For those homeowners who prefer to work on appliances themselves, they can make the maintenance ritual of draining the water out every few months to lessen the effects of hard water sediments and flushing the tank to increase its performance. To prevent any chance of injury, before handling a hot water heater, you must shut it off. This will avoid exposing yourself to scalding hot water or contact with electricity.
The following instructions apply to both gas water heaters as well as electric powered water heaters. It is also prudent to review any materials about your appliance provided by the manufacturer.
Familiarize yourself with the diagram on this page to become acquainted with the features of the hot water heater.
Shutdown Instructions For The Hot Water Heater:
Step 1 – Turn Off the Gas Or Electricity power source
For a gas water heater, above the thermostat is a dial. Twist the thermostat dial to the OFF position. To cut the power to an electric power water heater, go to your circuit breaker box, locate the breaker to your water heater and switch it to the OFF position.
Step 2 – Turn Off The Water Supply
Turn the water shutoff valve clockwise until it stops. If this does not stop the water flow, then turn off the valve of the main water line to the house.
Step 3 – Drain Out The Water Heater
Attaching a hose to the drain valve of the water heater’s tank will allow you to remove all the water housed inside. The other end of the hose should be in a lower area at a safe location to dispense the water. Then to let air into the tank, open the hot water faucets in the house.
Step 4 – Open the relief valve on the hot water tank.
Position the handle straight out or up. Once the water finishes flowing from the hose, the tank is drained.
Be Careful! When the water coming out of the tank is still likely to be hot!
To answer all your hot water heater questions or need our emergency services right away, call Donnelly’s Plumbing Heating and Cooling at (215) 855-2014 or click the banner below to schedule service online.
