A water heater works quietly until it doesn't, and from a phone two states away the first sign is usually a wet floor. The job itself is not hard. The problem is that nobody has written down who looks at it, so it never gets looked at.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Find the model and the age first
Go to the tank and read the label, usually on the side or top. Write down the model number, the serial number, and the age printed on the label. Take a photo of the label and put it in the shared folder. A technician will ask for these before anything else, and the age tells you how much attention the tank needs.
Look where water shows up first
Check under the tank, the drip pan if one is there, the floor around the base, and the pipe connections at the top. Look for rust, crusty mineral deposits, dampness, or a line of water on the floor. Any of these is a reason to call a plumber now, not at the next visit.
Then find the pressure relief valve on the side or top of the tank and the short pipe running from it toward the floor or outside. That pipe should point to a safe drain spot and should not be capped or sealed. If water drips from the valve or the pipe is blocked, call a plumber the same day. Do not adjust, cap, or take apart that valve yourself.
Set the temperature with a person, not a guess
The temperature dial is usually behind a small cover or panel. Ask the plumber what setting suits the people who bathe in that house, and ask for it to be written in the service note. If someone in the house is unsteady in the shower, ask whether a lower setting or a mixing valve would be a better fit. Those are questions for the technician to answer for that specific tank.
Schedule the yearly look
Once a year, a licensed plumber or qualified technician can flush sediment from the tank, test the relief valve, and check the burner or heating element and the parts the manual lists. Find the maintenance schedule in the manual and follow it. If the tank makes popping or rumbling sounds while it heats, sediment is a common cause, and that is a question to bring to the technician.
Decide who owns the job
Name one person on the family side who books the yearly visit, one who meets the technician or lets them in, and one who pays. These can be three siblings or one person doing all three. Write the names on the first page of the folder. Without that line on paper, the visit slips another year.
What to do tonight
Find the shutoff valve for the cold water going into the tank and the power switch or gas control for the heater, and write down where each one is. Take a photo of the label. If someone is in the house, ask them to look under the tank and at the pipe from the relief valve, then send a photo to the family group.
What to hand the plumber
Give the technician the model number, the serial number, the photo of the label, any earlier service note, the name of the person who books and the person who pays, and a list of anything you saw. Ask for a written service note, and keep it in the folder. Ask what the next visit should cover so the second look is planned, not improvised.
Public guidance on tank safety and maintenance is listed on our Sources page.