A broken water heater can come at an inopportune time – while you’re showering. You will need water heater repair when your heater comes out with rust colored water, water that smells like rotten eggs, inadequate hot water supply or when it leaks. But before you call in your repairman, check out these easy water heater repair DIY tips.

• Rust Colored Water/Smells Like Rotten Eggs

This problem is usually caused by an eroded sacrificial anode rod. This device “sacrifices” itself by protecting the water heater’s interior lining by slowly being dissolved. When the corrosion is too much the tank lining starts to decay resulting in rust colored or smelly water coming from the tank. The good news is that sacrificial anode rods are easily replaced. Your local hardware probably carries this at around $50 each.

• Lack Of Hot Water

Water heater repair is also needed when there’s a lack of hot water being produced by the heater. This can be caused by a broken pilot light or a faulty thermostat. First try to reset the thermostat. If the pilot light does not stay lit then your thermocouple connections need to be tightened or will need replacement.

• Leaky Or Noisy

Sediment build-up could be causing these problems. If it is making a high pitched whine there sediment buildup on the electric heating elements. If it’s a rumbling or popping sort of noise then this means that the sediment buildup is in the bottom of the tank. In both cases the tank will need to be flushed by an outside water source like a hose.