Water heater repair in northern Utah

Start with safety, then stop the water.

1. Gas smell: leave the house now. Call the gas utility or 911 from outside. Call us after that.
2. Carbon monoxide alarm: get everyone out and call 911.
3. No gas smell: close the cold water valve on the pipe that enters the top of the heater. Turn a round handle clockwise until it stops. Turn a lever handle a quarter turn so it sits across the pipe.
4. Valve stuck or water still coming: close the main water valve for the house.
5. Standing water: stay out of it, above all near the heater or anything electrical.
6. Then call us. Tell us where the water shows up: the top, the side, or under the tank.

Do not touch the gas valve, the vent, the relief valve, or any wiring. Leave those for a licensed plumber.

The cause depends on the type of heater.

• Gas tank: the pilot is out, the thermocouple or igniter has failed, or the gas control valve has quit.
• Electric tank: a heating element has burned out, a thermostat has failed, or the high-limit switch has tripped.
• Any tank: sediment covers the bottom, or a broken dip tube lets cold water mix into the hot water at the top.
• Tankless: scale in the heat exchanger, a clogged inlet filter, or an ignition fault shuts the unit down and shows an error code.

Before you call, check whether every faucet runs cold or only one. Write down any error code on the display. Both details help us plan the visit. We test each part before we replace anything, so the repair fixes the real cause.

Every repair follows the same steps.

1. Questions by phone. We ask what you see, whether the heater is gas or electric, and the brand and age on the label.
2. Safety check. We check for gas leaks, venting problems, and a working relief valve before anything else.
3. Diagnosis. We test the ignition parts, gas control, elements, thermostats, and anode rod, and we find the source of any leak.
4. Free estimate. We explain what failed and what the repair involves before work starts.
5. Repair and test. We replace the failed part, restart the heater, and check for leaks and steady water temperature.

A part swap such as a thermocouple, igniter, element, or valve is usually finished in one visit. A special-order part for an older or less common model means a second trip.

Repair it when the tank is sound and a part has failed. Replace it when the tank itself is failing.

Repair usually makes sense for a bad thermocouple, igniter, gas control valve, heating element, thermostat, relief valve, drain valve, or a used-up anode rod.

Replacement is the answer when:

• water seeps from the tank body or its seams. A leaking tank cannot be patched.
• the hot water runs rusty and a new anode rod does not clear it.
• the heater needs one repair after another.
• the heater is old. ENERGY STAR says to consider replacing a water heater that is more than 10 years old before it fails and forces a rushed decision.

Hard water is rough on tanks, so age matters more here than in places with soft water. We will tell you plainly which side of the line your heater is on.

Hard water leaves minerals behind every time it is heated. Provo's 2025 water report gives typical hardness of 10–15 grains per gallon, and Park City's quarterly tests have run as high as 24. At those levels the minerals build up in four places.

• The tank bottom. Sediment settles there, and a gas burner has to heat through it. You hear rumbling or popping, and hot water takes longer to come back.
• The lower element. In an electric tank, scale coats the element until it overheats and burns out.
• The anode rod. The rod corrodes so the tank does not. Once the rod is gone, the tank starts to rust.
• A tankless heat exchanger. Scale narrows the passages, flow drops, and the unit shuts down on an error code.

We flush tanks, descale tankless heaters, and check anode rods. A water softener ahead of the heater slows the scale.

We give free estimates. What a repair costs comes down to five things.

• The part that failed. An igniter or a thermocouple is a different job from a gas control valve or a tankless heat exchanger.
• The type of heater. Tank, tankless, gas, and electric heaters use different parts and take different amounts of labor.
• Age and model. Parts for an older or less common heater can be harder to find.
• Access. A heater in a tight closet, an attic, or a crawl space takes longer to work on.
• What else we find. A worn vent connector, a failed expansion tank, or a corroded shut-off valve may need attention during the same visit.

If the repair comes close to the cost of a new heater, we will say so and give you an estimate for both. Financing is available for larger jobs.