Emergency Plumber in Doraville, GA for Urgent Plumbing Problems

A gas water heater sits at the meeting point of two systems: natural gas and pressurized hot water. When something goes wrong with it in a Doraville home, the first question in this kind of emergency is not who fixes the heater but whether anyone should be inside the house. Alpha Plumbing and Sewer handles calls 24/7 about water heater leaks, relief valve problems and related plumbing failures, but a gas smell always comes first.

If you smell gas, leave first

1. Get everyone, including pets, out of the house. Leave the door open behind you if it is on your way.
2. Do not switch lights or appliances on or off, use a phone, start a car in an attached garage, or light anything while you are inside.
3. From a safe distance outside, call the gas utility's emergency line or 911.
4. Do not go back in, or try to find the leak, until the utility or fire department says it is safe.

The same goes for a carbon monoxide alarm: get everyone outside and call 911. A plumber's work begins after that.

After the gas utility has been out

Once the utility has made the house safe, it may leave the gas off to the heater or the whole house until repairs are made. Depending on what was found, the plumbing side can include replacing a leaking gas connector or shutoff valve at the heater, repairing gas piping, testing it for leaks, and relighting the appliance. The technician should explain what failed and show you the repaired connection before the heater goes back into service.

Heater problems that are urgent

• Water leaking from the tank itself, usually from the bottom or through the jacket. A leaking tank cannot be patched.
• The temperature and pressure relief valve discharging steadily, or spitting hot water and steam.
• Soot, scorch marks or melted plastic around the burner door or at the draft hood on top, which can mean exhaust is spilling back instead of going up the vent.
• Rumbling or banging together with relief valve discharge.

Any of these is a reason to shut the heater down and book a gas water heater repair rather than wait.

Problems that can usually wait for daytime

No hot water with no leak, no gas smell and no alarm is inconvenient but rarely dangerous. The same is true of water that is only lukewarm, a pilot that went out once, or a small drip from a fitting at the top that you can catch in a pan. Book a visit, and keep an eye on it in the meantime.

Shutting a gas heater down safely

If the heater is leaking water and there is no gas smell, turn the gas control knob to off as the label on the heater describes, then close the cold water valve on the supply line going into the top of the tank. Leave the drain valve alone; the water inside can be hot enough to scald. Electric heaters are shut down at the breaker instead, and electric water heater repair and installation covers those.

Repair or a new heater

A failed thermocouple, gas valve, relief valve or connector can usually be repaired. A leaking tank means replacement, and so does a heater with a badly corroded or damaged combustion chamber. When replacing, the plumber looks at venting, gas line size, and space for a matching unit. Some households use a breakdown to consider a tankless water heater, which has its own venting and gas requirements. A written estimate should cover the unit, venting changes, gas and water connections, and haul-away of the old heater.

Doraville permit paperwork

Doraville, in DeKalb County, lists new plumbing lines and fixture work that changes piping on its residential permit checklist of jobs that need a permit, and each permit there is backed by a notarized affidavit. A heater replacement that alters gas or water piping should be planned with that in mind; the Community Development permits office can confirm what a specific job needs.

Gas and water heater questions in Doraville

What does a natural gas leak smell like?

Natural gas has no smell of its own, so utilities add an odorant that most people describe as rotten eggs or sulfur. Some people do not notice it easily, and a stuffy nose can hide it. If you notice that smell, hear hissing near a gas line, or see dead plants over a buried gas line, treat it as a leak and leave.

Can I relight the pilot myself?

If there is no gas smell and the heater has lighting instructions on its label, many homeowners relight a standing pilot themselves by following them exactly. If the pilot will not light or keeps going out, the thermocouple, gas valve or venting may be at fault, and that is a repair call. Never try to relight anything while you can smell gas.

Why is the relief valve on my water heater dripping?

The temperature and pressure relief valve opens when the tank gets too hot or the pressure climbs too high. An occasional drip can come from thermal expansion in a closed system, which an expansion tank addresses. A steady discharge is a reason to shut the heater down and call. Never cap, plug or remove that valve.

Once the utility has cleared the house

When the heater still needs work, reach Alpha Plumbing and Sewer at (404) 409-4448 and pass on what the utility found.