Ruptured Water Heater? What To Do To Start Remediation

Water heaters can suddenly rupture and quickly send a cascade of water where the water heater is located. For many people, water heaters are in the basement and cause very little damage. For the unlucky ones with a water heater in the closet or utility room within the living area of their home, a ruptured water heater can be a nightmare to contend with due to the extensive water damage it can cause. Here's what you need to do before you can start cleanup if you find yourself dealing with flooding in your home due to a ruptured water heater in a closet or utility room.

Stop the Water & Power

With your tank ruptured, cold water will continue going into the tank until you shut off the water supply. So, the first thing you'll want to do is to shut off the water going to the water heater. There is a valve on the tank that will close the pipe that supplies the cold water to the tank. Turn the knob for this valve until it closes. If you can't find where this valve is on the water heater or you can't safely reach the valve, shut off the main water supply for your home.

If you are unable to locate the main water supply shut off, follow the steps in this tutorial on how to shut off your home's main water supply. After you've shut off the water you'll want to shut off the power to the water heater. Even if your water heater uses gas as fuel, you'll still need to shut off the electricity as it uses electricity for the pilot light. 

Remove the Water

The next step in water damage remediation is to remove as much water from your home as possible. Ideally, you should start removing the water as quickly as possible to reduce the amount of water that will seep into the building materials of your home. Acting quickly to remove as much water as possible before it causes extensive damage will mean the difference between being able to restore or replace various materials and items. 

While sopping up and wet-vacuuming out as much water as possible, call your local water damage remediation services. Most of the companies that provide water damage remediation services do so on an emergency basis, which means they can come to your home quickly to help you remove the rest of the water and to start restoration on anything that has water damage.

For more information, reach out to a water damage remediation company near you.