Water Heater Repair in Houston, TX
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Harris County's grid is the real threat to your water heater
Your water heater doesn't work hard here. Winters are mild, water temperatures don't swing the way they do up north, and the tank itself rarely struggles against the weather. What it struggles against is the power going out. In Texas, a third of households lost power for a day or more in 2024, and Harris County has logged 178 damaging wind events and two winter storms in the last ten years.
A gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep running through an outage. But most electric water heaters and many gas models with electronic ignition shut down when the power drops, and some need to be reset by hand once it's back. If your water suddenly runs cold after a storm rolls through, that's usually why.
- 45°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 4 months
- November through February, the months homes here need heat
- 33%
- of Texas 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 $290 a year off hot water for a typical Texas home.
Estimates for a typical Texas home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Texas 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 corroded through and is starting to fail. Water heaters have a steel tank with a glass lining inside, and once that lining cracks or wears thin, the steel rusts and eventually leaks. A leak can also come from the drain valve at the bottom, or from fittings that have loosened over time, and those can sometimes be fixed without replacing the unit. A contractor can tell you which one you're dealing with by looking at where the water is actually coming from.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out. That's the small safety sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep sending gas. When it wears out or sits out of position, the gas valve shuts off the pilot even though the flame looks fine. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft can also blow the flame out. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it, which is a straightforward fix in most cases.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater can be repaired rather than requiring a full replacement. Common issues include a clogged inlet filter, mineral buildup on the heat exchanger, or a failed igniter, and each of those can be serviced on its own. Because tankless units run on electronics and sensors, a contractor needs to run a diagnostic to find the specific part that's failing rather than guessing from the symptoms alone.