Water Heater Repair in Lakeland, FL
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Lakeland's water heaters run hot most of the year
Winter here barely counts. Nights average 51°F even in the coldest months, so the tank in your garage or closet is working against warm water almost year round. That keeps the heating element or burner cycling less than it would up north, but Florida heat and humidity go after the tank itself, the anode rod, and the connections at the top.
Storms are the bigger threat. Polk County has logged 37 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Florida, 38 percent of households lost power for a day or more in 2024 alone. An electric water heater without power just stops. A gas one with a standing pilot keeps working through the outage, but if the power was out long enough for the pilot to need relighting, or a surge hit the unit when power came back, that's when a homeowner finds out the hard way with a cold shower.
- 51°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 1 months
- January through January, the months homes here need heat
- 38%
- of Florida 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 $240 a year off hot water for a typical Florida home.
Estimates for a typical Florida home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Florida 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 cause is the tank itself has corroded through and is failing from the inside. Sediment builds up on the bottom of the tank over years and eats away at the lining until it cracks or rusts through, and once that happens the tank can't be patched or repaired. A leak can also come from a loose drain valve or a fitting where a pipe connects, which a contractor can check before assuming the tank is bad. If the water is coming from underneath the tank itself, plan on replacing the unit rather than repairing it.
- 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, so the gas valve shuts it off. It can also mean a draft is blowing the flame out, or the pilot orifice is partly clogged with dirt. A thermocouple is a simple part to replace and usually solves the problem on its own. If you've already tried relighting it a few times and it keeps going out, have a contractor look at it rather than continuing to relight it.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater can be repaired without replacing the whole unit. Common repairs include cleaning mineral scale out of the heat exchanger, replacing an igniter, or clearing a blocked vent. Because tankless units run on demand rather than holding water in a tank, they don't fail the way a tank does when it corrodes, so a repair is usually the right call unless the heat exchanger itself has cracked. A contractor can tell you which it is once they've looked at the unit.