Lessons Learned ? Water Heaters
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Lessons Learned ? Water Heaters |
Three hundred thousand dollars damage from a 25 gallon water heater leak ? you've got to be kidding! Significant damage was recently done to about 50% of a building as the result of a slow leaking water heater. The bulk of the leaking occurred sometime late on a Friday night or early Saturday morning. Because the building was unoccupied during this time, the water was not cut off until mid-morning Sunday. That's a minimum of 24 hours of water flow. If this incident had occurred on a weekday or even on a weeknight there likely would have been much less damage.
The source of the water leak was identified as 25-yr old, 25-gal water heater located in a second floor closet. The floor tile and carpet on the second floor was damaged in addition to extensive damage to walls, floor, and ceiling below. Fortunately, the resulting damage did not affect equipment or instruments or the resulting cost of this incident could have been much more.
The water tank was not equipped with a safety cut-off valve or electronic water flow monitoring. Although it looked new, it was outdated with respect to these loss prevention devices. Additionally, there was no preventative maintenance or inspection on this unit that could have identified the problem before the catastrophic failure.
In addition to the direct cost, there are significant indirect or hidden costs when addressing a water damage incident. Employees in this case had to operate from cramped spaces for 6 to 8 weeks while repairs were made. Undoubtedly the noise, smell, and distraction from the repairs affected productivity as well. Working conditions such as these increases employee stress and damages morale. Public image/confidence could be affected if citizens feel their tax dollars are being used to make repairs on equipment where damage should have been foreseen and avoided.
What can you do to avoid incidents like this one?
• Identify and locate all hot water heaters and boilers.
• Maintain a service log documenting inspections, repairs and date tank was placed in service.
• Install floor drains under or near all hot water heaters located on above grade floors.
• Install catch pans under water heaters, to prevent damage from unnoticed slow leaks.
• Install water flow monitors and/or water shut-off valves.
• Conduct regularly scheduled maintenance and safety checks on all equipment.
• Establish a replacement schedule based on 80% of the life expectancy of the water heater.
