Water Heater Replacement in Lanham, MD

Lanham homes and utilities

Lanham is a fully built-out suburb along the Capital Beltway, and its median home dates to about 1969. A lot of houses here have had several water heaters in the same basement corner, sometimes with patched venting or an older shutoff valve. A new heater is a good time to fix those. WSSC Water supplies water and sewer service from treated river water and adds a corrosion inhibitor that protects pipes on your side of the meter.

Washington Gas serves the area, though BGE covers some Prince George's addresses, so check your bill. With Washington Gas, a gas smell means getting out first, then calling 911 and 844-WASHGAS (927-4427), option 1, from a safe place.

Some Lanham houses have had a furnace replaced with a high-efficiency model that vents through the wall, leaving the water heater alone in an oversized chimney. That can cause poor draft. A plumber should check the flue before installing another atmospheric tank, and may suggest a liner or a power-vent model instead.

Which replacement fits?

Warning signs

• Water at the base of the tank or a rusty bottom ring
• Hot water that fades early or looks brown
• Banging or popping as the heater runs
• Soot around the burner door or a flickering pilot

Timing notes

A heater that limps through summer often fails in January, when incoming water is coldest and the burner runs longest. If yours is showing two or more of these signs, schedule a replacement in the fall. That gives you time to compare quotes, sort out the WSSC permit and decide on an upgrade without a cold house pushing you. If the tank is already leaking, close the cold supply valve and call now; leaks rarely slow down.