Do I need a plumber for rusted water heater connections?
Brown rust on connecting nipples slowly worsens over the years until water pools from the inlet and outlet and runs over the sides. Because people cannot tell if they can just replace the badly rusted parts or if the entire heater is ruined, they are left unsure how to fix it. If the connections are pooling water and you have to ask, you need to call a plumber.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1DIY repair by replacing the nipple, flex hose, plumbing tape, and pipe wrenchDid this help you?
- 2Calling a plumber to handle the fixDid this help you?
- 3Planning to replace the water heater if it is over 10 years oldDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Since install there has been some brown rust and corrosion but it does look like it's slowly getting worse over a few years.”source ↗
“Should I be calling a plumber to fix this soon?”source ↗
“Water pooling from inlet and outlet, then runs over the sides.”source ↗
“The nipples that connect to it are badly rusted.”source ↗
“Can I replace them or is this thing toast?”source ↗
“If you have to ask, then unfortunately yes, call a plumber”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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