provided by: HandyHouseholdHints.com
You cannot live with bad plumbing in your home and this is especially the case for your hot water tank. Many times you can get a small hole in your water tank that will make it so you lose water and lose heat in the water supplied to your home.
Most people just call a plumber to repair the hole but plumbers can charge an arm and a leg and if the hole in your hot water tank is small you can easily do it yourself. You can fix a hole in your water tank in a few ways, as it will depend in where the hole is located and how hard the area with the hole is to get at.
Here are some steps you can take to repairing a small home in your hot water tank.
∗ The first thing you have to do is determine the extent of the problem before you try to fix the hole in your hot water tank. Smaller holes are common or it can be a larger issue with your tank, such as either busted or rusted seams.
∗ Take a small piece of wood and shove it right into the hole. Many times a toothpick will be good for this job. The water that is in the tank will make the wood piece expand and then it will completely fill the hole. The outside of the piece of wood can then be broken off so it does not stick out. (This is only a quick fix so you can further perform the job and not to solution to your problem).
∗ Turn off both the water and the water heater at the valve of the tank. If the hole in your hot water tank is near the bottom of the tank you will need to drain the water.
∗ Go to a hardware store and buy a small toggle bolt and measure the diameter of it.
∗ Carefully drill a hole in the water tank making sure the hole you drill is large enough to insert the toggle into the hole.
∗ Attach both a metal and rubber washer to the end of the toggle bolt before you insert in into the hole in your hot water tank. (It is important that you make sure that the rubber washer is a plumber's washer and it will be able to hold up to the heat that is generated by the tank. If you are not sure about this ask a professional or a worker at the hardware store. By not using the right rubber washer it will give out and you will be right back where you started with the leak.)
∗ Screw the bolt in place making sure it is snug. You have to be sure that you do not twist the bolt too tight or it may break off.
TIP:
If the hole is a larger one or after you repair the small hole and your hot water tank still is leaking you may have to hire a professional plumber.
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