Water Heater Repair in Columbus, OH
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Cold winters make a water heater work harder here
Water heaters in Franklin County run harder from October through May, when the water coming into the tank is cold and the burner or element has to make up more ground before it hits the temperature you set. That extra work falls on the same parts every time, the burner or element and the thermostat that tells it when to fire. Over enough cold months, an element burns out or a burner stops lighting the way it should, and you notice it as water that starts warm and turns cold partway through a shower.
Power outages add another failure point. Ohio households have gone a full day or more without power, and a gas water heater with an electric ignition will not relight on its own once the power comes back. If your water heater has been cold since an outage, that is often why.
- 24°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 8 months
- October through May, the months homes here need heat
- 18%
- of Ohio households lost power for a day or more in 2024, and a heater with an electric element or electric ignition stops without it
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new water heater would cut about $70 a year off hot water for a typical Ohio home.
Estimates for a typical Ohio home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Ohio fuel prices. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when an element, thermostat or gas valve has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the tank itself is leaking.
- Why is my water heater leaking from the bottom?
- The most common reason is that the tank itself has rusted through from the inside and is starting to fail. Sediment builds up in the bottom of the tank over years, and once it corrodes a hole in the steel, water finds its way out and there is no patching it. It can also be a loose drain valve or a fitting that has worked itself loose, both of which are fixable. A contractor can tell you which one you have by looking at where the water is actually coming from.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- Most of the time this means the thermocouple has worn out. That's the small part that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep the gas flowing. When it wears out, it can't hold that signal, so the valve shuts the gas off and the pilot goes out. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft near the burner can cause the same thing, so a contractor will check both before replacing anything. A standing pilot like this runs without power, so a storm outage will not be the cause.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless unit are repairable. Common issues are a clogged inlet filter, mineral buildup on the heat exchanger, or an igniter that's failed, and all of those can be cleaned or replaced. The electronics that control the unit can also fail and be swapped out on their own. A contractor will run the error code the unit is showing to figure out which part is causing the problem.