Water Heater Repair in Baltimore, MD
Tell us what your water heater is doing, and a licensed contractor who covers Baltimore will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Baltimore winters put your water heater to work harder
Your water heater runs nonstop from October through April, seven months a year. On nights that average 28°F, incoming water is colder, so the burner or heating element stays on longer to keep up. That extra runtime wears on the thermostat and the heating element in an electric unit, or the burner assembly and thermocouple in a gas one.
Maryland households aren't strangers to power loss either, with 11% going at least 24 hours without it in 2024, and the region has seen 13 winter storms and 45 damaging wind events over the past ten years. When power drops mid-winter and comes back on, an electric water heater should reheat on its own, but a pilot light on a gas unit that's gone out will need to be relit before you have hot water again.
- 28°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- October through April, the months homes here need heat
- 11%
- of Maryland 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 $80 a year off hot water for a typical Maryland home.
Estimates for a typical Maryland home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Maryland 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?
- Most often the tank itself has rusted through and is failing. Water heater tanks corrode from the inside over years, and once a leak starts there, it will not seal itself and gets worse. It can also be the drain valve, a loose fitting, or pressure relief valve venting water, and those are worth checking first since they can sometimes be fixed without replacing the tank. A contractor can tell you which one you have and whether the tank is worth repairing or needs to be replaced.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The thermocouple is the usual cause. It is the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning, and once it wears out or sits out of position, the valve shuts the gas off as a safety measure even though the flame is fine. A dirty pilot tube or a draft blowing on the flame can cause the same thing. This is a gas control issue, so it should be diagnosed by a contractor rather than worked around.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most tankless water heater problems are repairable. Common issues are a dirty flame sensor, a clogged inlet filter, a failed igniter, or mineral buildup on the heat exchanger from hard water, and each of these can be cleaned or replaced without swapping the whole unit. A contractor can flush the unit and test its parts to find out which one is causing the problem.