Water Heater Repair in Laurens, SC
Tell us what your water heater is doing, and a licensed contractor who covers Laurens County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Laurens County water heaters lose power more than they lose parts
Laurens County doesn't get the hard freezes that crack pipes. Winter nights average 34°F, and the cold season here is short. What it does have is wind. Fifty-nine damaging wind events in the past ten years, against just two winter storms, means the bigger risk to your water heater is the power going out, not the cold getting in.
Almost half of South Carolina households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep making hot water through an outage like that. One with an electronic ignition won't relight until the power is back, and some need a reset before they fire again. If your water heater sat cold after the last outage and never came back on its own, that's the part worth checking first.
- 34°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 5 months
- November through March, the months homes here need heat
- 45%
- of South Carolina 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 $300 a year off hot water for a typical South Carolina home.
Estimates for a typical South Carolina home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and South Carolina 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 rusted through from the inside and is starting to fail. Sediment builds up at the bottom of the tank over years, and it holds moisture against the steel until it corrodes. A leak can also come from a loose drain valve or a fitting that has failed, which a contractor can check before deciding the tank is done. Once the tank is actually leaking, though, it needs to be replaced, not patched.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- Most of the time this means the thermocouple has worn out and can no longer sense that the pilot is burning. That part's job is to hold the gas valve open, and once it fails the valve shuts the gas off as soon as you let go of the button. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft blowing across the flame can cause the same thing. A standing pilot doesn't draw any power, so a power outage won't explain it going out.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most tankless water heater problems are repairs, not replacements. The igniter, the flow sensor, and the heat exchanger are the parts that tend to fail, and each can be replaced on its own. Mineral buildup inside the unit is common too and is cleared with a descaling flush rather than a new install. A contractor can look at the error code the unit is showing and price the repair from there.