Your hot water heater has two pipes connected to it. One is a cold water line, which delivers cold water into the tank. The other is the hot water line, which carries hot water out of the tank. Either of these connections has the potential to develop leaks at some point. If this happens, you may notice a pool of water near the connection or on the ground near the hot water tank. Or, you may just notice a few drops of water on the connections themselves. This is an easy problem for plumbers to address, but how they address it will depend on the cause of the leaks. Here are a few of the most common causes of leaky connections and how a plumber will deal with them.

A Poor Seal

If your hot water tank is relatively new and has already started leaking from the connections, there's a good chance the connections didn't seal properly in the first place. The plumber who installed the tank may not have used enough pipe dope, or they may have left one of the connecting pipes just a hair too long, resulting in a poor seal between the pipes.

If a poor seal is causing your leaks, the plumber will generally turn off the water supply, undo the connection, and then adjust the way the pipes sit together. They may cut one pipe a tiny bit shorter and be sure to use some extra pipe dope.

Corrosion

If your hot water tank has been in place for years and is just now starting to leak, then the leak is probably due to corrosion. This is more common in areas with acidic water, but it can happen anywhere. 

If corrosion is to blame for the leak, the plumber will typically turn off the water and remove the connecting pipes. They'll discard those old pipes and use new ones to create a new connection with the hot water tank. However, if your tank is old and experiencing other issues in addition to the corroded connections, your plumber might recommend just replacing the whole thing, connecting pipes and all.

Don't ignore leaky hot water tank connections. Even if only a few drops of water are escaping now, repairing this problem will ensure the leaks do not become more extensive in the future. Plumbers see and fix this issue often, so it's one they are familiar with and can fix with ease.

Contact a company like Quality Plumbing to learn more.