No hot water or a leak? Start here
The first few minutes
Put people first
Read the safety note below this list before doing anything else. It covers the two situations where you should leave the house at once.
Slow the water
If water is spreading and you know where the home's main shutoff is, and it is safe to reach, close it.
Protect what you can
Move boxes, rugs and anything electrical away from the water's path. Keep children and pets out of the cellar.
Do not touch the heater
Leave its valves, fuel line, wiring, venting and relief pipe alone, even if water is coming from it.
Call
Tell us the town, what is happening, the fuel, and whether the house is on a well.
If you smell gas, leave the building and call the gas utility and emergency services once you are outside.
If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, leave and call emergency services from outside the home.
What counts as an emergency
There is no strict line, and you know your household best. These situations usually justify an out-of-hours visit:
- Water leaking from the heater that will not stop, especially into a finished lower level
- Water or steam coming from the temperature and pressure relief valve pipe
- No hot water at all in a household that cannot manage until morning
- A leaking heater found when opening a seasonal cottage or returning from time away
Some things can safely wait for a daytime visit: a slow drip into a pan from a fitting, lukewarm water, or a heater that has started making noise. If you are not sure which side of the line you are on, call and describe it. The person on the phone will be straight with you about whether it needs a night call.
Why emergencies look different here
Old cellars and finished basements
In a fieldstone or brick cellar with a floor drain, a leaking tank is a mess but rarely a disaster. In a finished lower level, the same leak reaches carpet, drywall and stored belongings within the hour, which is why those calls are treated as urgent. See basement water heater leaks.
Hot water that depends on the boiler
In an oil-heated home where the boiler makes the hot water, a boiler fault can take out the heat and the hot water together. We can help with the hot water side, and the person on the phone will be clear if the problem lies with the boiler itself, which is outside this service.
Winter
Cold inlet water means a heater that has been off for a few hours takes longer to recover once it is running again. After an emergency repair in January, expect the first full tank to take a while.
Rentals and multi-family buildings
In older multi-family houses and mill-village buildings, one basement can hold several heaters serving different units, and the person who notices the water may not be the person who can reach the shutoffs. If that is your situation, tell us which unit is affected, who has access to the basement, and whether the building owner or manager has been told. The technician needs to get to the right heater quickly.
Seasonal homes
Shoreline cottages and lake houses sometimes turn up a leaking heater at the start of the season. If that is you, close the main shutoff if you can reach it safely and call. Our seasonal shutoff page covers avoiding it next year.
What happens when you call
A person answers. They will ask your town, what is happening, whether water is still flowing, the fuel, the type of heater if you know it, and whether you are on a private well. They then contact an available local installer who handles emergency work in your area and tell you honestly what the arrival window looks like. That depends on distance, the hour, the weather and how many other calls are waiting, so we do not promise a time we cannot keep.
What the technician does on site
The first job is to make the situation stable: stop the water at the heater, shut the heater down properly, and deal with anything that needs making safe. Only then do they work out what failed. If the fix is a replaceable part they are carrying, the heater may be running again the same night. If the tank itself has failed, the job becomes a replacement, which may be completed on the spot or scheduled for first thing, depending on the equipment available.
Whatever the outcome, you are told the price before any repair or replacement work begins. There are no hidden fees.
After-hours pricing is explained before the work starts.
What affects the cost of an emergency call
- The hour. Overnight, weekend and holiday visits cost more than a scheduled daytime call.
- What failed. A valve or fitting is a different job from a failed tank.
- Parts on hand. Common parts can be fitted at once; others may mean a return visit.
- Access and conditions. A flooded, cramped or finished space takes longer to work in safely.
How long emergency water heater service takes in Connecticut
Stopping the water is usually quick once the technician is there. A same-night repair depends on the part. A full replacement out of hours depends on having the right heater available; sometimes the practical answer is to make everything safe tonight and replace in the morning. The technician will say which it is before they start.
Emergency water heater questions
Is someone really available in the middle of the night?
Phones are answered 24 hours a day, every day. Emergency visits are available across much of Connecticut, and the person you speak to will tell you honestly what the arrival window looks like for your town at that hour before anything is booked.
Water is coming out of the pipe on the side of the tank. What should I do?
That pipe comes from the temperature and pressure relief valve, which releases water when temperature or pressure inside the tank is too high. Do not plug it, cap it or try to close it. Keep people clear of the discharge, and call straight away so a technician can find out why it is opening.
Should I turn the water heater off myself?
Leave the heater's own controls, fuel supply and electrical connections to the technician. If water is spreading and you know where the home's main water shutoff is and can reach it safely, closing that is enough to slow things down until help arrives.
We have no heat and no hot water. Can you help?
If both went off together, the boiler may be the cause, especially if it also makes the hot water through a coil or indirect tank. The installers handle the hot water side of those systems, not the boiler. Tell us what you are seeing and we will be clear about whether this is something we can arrange.
Does an emergency visit always cost more?
Overnight, weekend and holiday visits generally cost more than scheduled ones. You will be told the price before work begins, so you can decide whether to go ahead now or make things safe and wait for a daytime visit.
Can the heater be replaced the same night?
Sometimes, if the right replacement is available and access allows. Other times the sensible plan is to stop the leak and make the heater safe tonight, then replace it the next day. The technician will explain which applies before starting.
We found the heater leaking when we opened the cottage. Is that an emergency?
If water is still flowing, treat it as one: close the main shutoff if it is safe to reach, move what you can out of the way, and call. If the water has already stopped and the tank is empty, a next-day visit may be fine.
Our house is on a well. Does that matter in an emergency?
Mention it when you call. A well system can keep pushing water to a leak until the right shutoff is closed, and the technician will want to know where the well equipment and shutoffs are. The installers do not work on the well itself, only on the water heater.