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A leaking water heater might seem like a small problem but soon this will turn into a big one. Even, a little amount of water is capable of causing damage to the floors and walls. It is very important to keep in mind that leaking water is just a symptom of major problems. A leak in the hot water tank does not shrink or go away with time, it just keeps getting worse. Therefore, you need to take a step forward quickly and try to fix it as soon as possible. 
Here are the steps that you need to take in case of leaking water from the bottom of your hot water tank:

Turn off the power to the hot water tank

When you get to know that your hot water tank is leaking, you should first turn off the power supply. In the case of an electric water heater, you  simply have to locate the circuit breaker box and turn off the breaker of your hot water tank. Water and electricity is a dangerous combination, and so you have to do this before you do anything else. 
In the case of a natural gas hot water tank, there will be an on/off switch or dial. You should set it to "off". Try not to close the gas shut-off valve as it will be a problem to turn it back on again. 

Turn off the water supply

When you have leaking water from your hot water tank, you should turn off the water supply from the cold water shut-off valve. This valve is generally located at the top of the water heater. You will either have a gate valve which you will have to turn clockwise in order to close or a handle that you will have to pull down. 
In any case, you are unable to locate this valve, you must close the main shut-off valve for the house to stop the water supply to your hot water tank. Once you shut the water supply to your hot water tank, the leak will stop or become less. 

Call professional plumbers

The bottom of hot water tanks can start leaking water due to many reasons. Some of the most common reasons are listed below:

• Leak from the temperature and pressure relief valve
• Leak from the drain valve
• Leak from the tank

Professional plumbers in Edmonton have found out that most of the tanks are wrapped inside the insulation and thus, any leak is not visible from the outside. Even when the hot water tank has an internal leak, the water comes out from the bottom of the tank. Most of the hot water tanks start leaking water when they become old and in this case, the only thing you can do is replace the water heater.

When the hot water tank starts leaking from the bottom, you cannot do any repairs to it. Improper repairs will lead to larger leaks and even floods. This, in turn, will cause much more serious problems. Thus, it’s advisable that you call professional plumbers in Edmonton to repair or replace your leaking water heater.

The hot water tank is probably the most expensive component of your company’s plumbing system. And the hot tank repair is also very costly. Most of the problems related to the hot water tank can be figured out easily and fixed without the help of an expert plumber. Thus, you can save some money on the expenses to be made on repairs. But, some problems have to undergo the hot tank repair. Here are some indications that will tell you that your water heater is failing.

No Hot Water
Hot water runs out very quickly? Your thermostat might be set too low or you might need to replace the thermostat. If everything is fine with the thermostat, there might be a mineral build-up in the tank. This mineral build-up eats up a lot of space and destroys the component used for heating, and hampers the water heater’s capacity to heat water. It can also make the hot water tank less efficient and shorten its lifespan.

Age
It is very important to know the age of your water heater. You can find out the age of the water heater by checking the serial number on the manufacturer’s sticker that is on the top of the water heater. The hot water tanks that are older than 10 years should be considered for replacement or you might find out that the water heater is failing.

Water Leaks
The most common indication to find out if your hot water tank needs to be replaced is when there is leakage. When your tank gets old, it starts to leak from places you cannot see that is leaking through a welded joint or a side wall seam. In such cases, you cannot get a hot tank repair done and so you would need to replace it. You have to fix the problem of leaking as soon as possible to prevent flooding and other damages.

Rumbling Noise
A hot water tank that makes weird noises of banging, creaking, knocking or whining is the worst. It does not let you live in peace. Most of the noise issues occur because of the mineral build-up inside the tank. The debris come in contact with the heating element and gives out a lot of noise. Sometimes, flushing the tank can solve this problem. If you have flushed out the tank but still the noises continue to persist, you should understand that the water heater is failing and it is time for it to be replaced.

If you find out any of the above indications in your hot water tank, you must consider that your water heater is failing and must look out for a professional plumber to get the hot tank repair done.

Eventually, every house owner is faced with the prospect of replacing the hot water heater. The average lifespan of a hot water heater is determined by the place where you live, because of the water content. For example, if you live on the west coast then you have to deal with corrosive water due to the alkalinity.
When buying a water heater you have a few choices, the two main choices being the newer tankless water heaters or the traditional tank type. The installation of tankless water heater is increasing every year. In spite of some inbuilt drawbacks of the storage tank design, there are some good reasons why it is homeowners’ more preferred choice for several years. Installation is simple, as the new unit generally replaces a present storage tank water heater of the same size and fuel. Also, huge production of storage water heaters has made them highly distributed and usually the most available option.
However, the tankless water heater was originally developed by Japanese manufacturers to accommodate smaller available space and high energy costs; as a result it removed many of the longstanding drawbacks of a hot water tank. A tankless heater as the name suggests, stores no water and hot water is produced on-demand only. The unit senses the pressure loss when a hot water tap is opened, and instantly starts flash-heating the water flow. A tankless water heater can be up to 50% more efficient as compared to a storage tank heater because the storage tank is removed which is known to be the cause of high energy consumption and a key source of heat loss.