How To Handle Burst Hot Water?

When there is a burst water heater in your home, this becomes a shocking event and not to mention this becomes extremely messy as well and this can potentially cause a lot of damages which may be extremely expensive to repair. If your hot water heater burst, you would probably be wondering why this happens and what to do next.

In general, the basic reason why the water heaters burst is that there is an extreme level of corrosion within the tank that can lead to the tank to burst. Unfortunately, there are a few underlying causes that can contribute to water heater explosions and this is not always apparent which one is the major culprit.

Sometimes there are major and prominent warning signs or risk factors that can very strongly indicate a burst hot water. In order to completely understand the various risk factors and it can contribute to a water heater exploding. This is extremely crucial to understand the kind of water heater that you are using, and the precautions are to be taken accordingly.

What Are The Warning Signs Of A Burst Hot Water?

Since the storage water heaters are manufactured out of metal and contain large volumes of heated water, they can carry a risk of leaking or even exploding as they eventually rust with the passing time. If the thermostat controlling the temperature of water within the tank is faulty, or if the mineral buildup inside the water heater prevents the thermostat from sensing the water’s temperature correctly, then the water inside the hot water tank tends to become overheated. This will then expand the volume within the concerned hot water tank, causing this to press the concerned tank’s seams and fittings. If these particular seams and fittings are corroded or rusted, then the pressure could result in a major leakage or even a dangerous explosion.

Here are a few risk factors and warning signs of the burst hot water heater:

•Your water heater is more than ten years old.

•Your water heater makes banging, clanking or rumbling noises as this heat up which indicates that sediment has built up and hardened inside the tank.

•There is visible rust on the outer side of the water heater, especially located at the pipe fittings.

•There is rusty water coming from your hot water heater which strongly indicates that rust has built up inside.

•Your water heater is leaking continuously, and this would indicate either a crack somewhere inside the tank or a malfunctioning pressure and temperature.

Burst Hot Water Occurred – How To Handle This Mess?

If your hot water heater bursts and if there is water everywhere, you must face a problem that needs immediate attention so that it does not get any worse or causes any further damage to your property. Those water heater emergencies necessarily require professional intervention but here are the immediate steps that you should adopt in case of a burst hot water:

•Firstly, you need to turn off the power immediately and the supply of cold water should also be stopped and if you gave a gas-powered water heater, you must necessarily shut down the gas line to the tank.

•When you’re ready to start cleaning up the water which leaked out from the burst hot water system, you should necessarily take photographs. These would help the homeowners to claim home warranty or insurance companies to claim the compensation for the damages.

•Using a wet-vac in order to clean up as much as water is a must.

Conclusion

The burst hot water should be handled with extreme care and the warning signs should never be ignored for favorable outcomes.