We would like to remind you that your water heater must have a pan and a sensor that triggers an alarm and turns off the incoming water to the water heater when leakage is detected. The pan should be piped to an adequate drain if it is available. If you do not have these safety measures, please consider scheduling a plumber visit to correct your installation as soon as possible.
Typical lifespan of an electric water heater in our building is 10-12 years but it can vary based on the temperature set-point and water usage. We recommend everybody whose water heater is approaching the 10 years age to schedule its replacement. Water heaters over 10 years must be replaced as soon as possible.
Owners are responsible for damages to the common areas and other units if their heater leaks. Water can cause damages to the walls, carpets, wiring and light fixtures, trigger a fire alarm resulting in a visit of firefighters, placing a service call to our fire alarm company and paying for a fire-watch. All this happened recently when a water heater located on the 4th floor leaked on Saturday in the middle of the night, flooded common areas on all floors and cost us hours of work and thousands of dollars for fixing the problem. To give you an idea about prices, just one call to a fire alarm company after hours on a weekend will cost you as much as a new water heater. Two shifts of wire-watch will cost as another water heater. Vacuuming water and building repair might be even more substantial.
If you have questions, please get in touch with the management and be prepared for our survey about your heater (its age, drain pan, drainage, leak sensor and automatic shut-off valve).
I hope you all have home insurance to cover liability if an accident happens.
Thank you