Water heater repair in Joliet, IL

Deep wells, radium and the coming switch to the lake

For more than a century Joliet has relied on wells drilled hundreds of feet into the Cambrian-Ordovician sandstone beneath Will County. Heavy pumping by Joliet and its neighbors has drawn that aquifer down steadily, and state water scientists have warned that parts of it may not be able to meet demand much beyond the next decade. That is why the city studied its options and chose to buy Lake Michigan water from Chicago, delivered through a new pipeline built by the Grand Prairie Water Commission, with service targeted for about 2030.

Water from the deep sandstone carries naturally occurring radium along with calcium, magnesium and iron. Joliet treats well water to bring radium within federal limits, and the process also takes out a portion of the hardness. What comes out of the tap is still hard enough to leave white crust on shower heads and to pile up sediment in a tank that is never drained. Some homes also see orange or brown staining when iron gets stirred up in older mains.

Because the source is deep groundwater, the water starts out at a fairly steady temperature in the 50s. In January it cools somewhat on the way through buried mains, but it rarely reaches the near-freezing levels that homes on Lake Michigan water see. That will change once lake water flows in, and many Joliet households will find that their current heater runs short in winter for the first time.

Older Joliet homes and newer subdivisions

The Cathedral Area and the Upper Bluff historic district west of downtown hold large Victorian and Prairie-style homes built when Joliet was a limestone quarry and steel town. Their basements often have stone walls, old floor drains and heaters squeezed between a boiler and coal-room remnants. The east side, around Forest Park and Ridgewood, has modest frame homes and bungalows with smaller basements and plenty of original galvanized pipe.

West of Interstate 55 and south toward the Plainfield and Minooka borders, Joliet grew rapidly in the 1990s and 2000s. Subdivisions such as Wynstone, Ashford, Cobblestone and the neighborhoods off Caton Farm Road were built with full basements, and the heater typically stands beside the furnace and a sump pit. Townhomes along Route 59 may keep a gas tank in a first-floor mechanical closet.

Des Plaines River weather and basement risks

The Des Plaines River and the Illinois and Michigan Canal run straight through downtown Joliet, and heavy rain can push the river and its tributaries, including Hickory Creek and Spring Creek, out of their banks. Basements in low-lying blocks near the river have taken water during major floods, and sump pump failures during storms flood basements in the newer subdivisions as well. A gas heater that has stood in floodwater needs a new control at minimum and, in most cases, a full replacement.

Northern Illinois winters bring long stretches below freezing and the occasional polar vortex, when ComEd's grid is under strain and outages from ice or wind can stop power-vented heaters. Summer brings severe thunderstorms, and Joliet's location on open prairie means tornado watches are a regular part of spring.

The problems plumbers see most in Joliet

• Thick mineral layers at the bottom of tanks fed by hard deep-well water, causing popping and lost capacity.
• Crusted tankless exchangers flashing fault codes after a few years on Joliet groundwater without a vinegar flush.
• Iron staining and clogged aerators after hydrant flushing or main breaks on the east side.
• Corroded anodes and early tank leaks in homes without a water softener.
• Flooded burners in basements near the Des Plaines River or behind failed sump pumps.
• Draft problems in Cathedral Area chimneys left oversized after a furnace upgrade.

Typical water heater prices in Joliet

Joliet labor falls in line with the rest of the southwest suburbs, a bit below Chicago itself. Jobs in historic homes with tight stone basements, and scale-heavy tanks that need extra time to drain, tend to land near the top of each range.

Illinois licensing and Joliet permits

Illinois handles plumbing licensure at the state level: the Illinois Department of Public Health issues plumber licenses and registers the contractors who employ them. Anyone replacing your water heater should hold an IDPH plumbing license, and you can verify it on the department's lookup before work begins. Inside city limits, Joliet's building and inspections office permits each heater swap, and the Joliet inspector checks gas piping and flue connections, where the relief line ends and whether an expansion tank was needed.

Unincorporated parts of Will County, and neighboring towns like Shorewood, Crest Hill and Plainfield, issue permits separately, so check which jurisdiction your address falls under. Some west side subdivisions with Joliet mailing addresses actually sit in Plainfield or unincorporated territory.

Scale control on deep-well water

Running off a bucket or two from the drain valve twice a year, and a full flush once a year, keeps Joliet groundwater from building a crust over the burner or around an electric element. If a heater has gone many years without being drained, the sediment can harden enough to block the valve, and a plumber may need to replace the drain valve with a full-port version before the tank can be cleared.

Many Joliet homes use a whole-house softener, which slows scale but can speed up anode consumption. Softened households should have the anode inspected more often than unsoftened ones, and a powered anode or aluminum-zinc rod can cut down on sulfur odors that sometimes appear when softened well water sits in a warm tank.

Planning for Lake Michigan water

When Joliet changes over to lake water, residents should expect softer water with fewer minerals and noticeably colder winter temperatures at the tap. Softer water will mean less sediment, but frigid winter supply will cut into the shower time a Joliet tank can give before it runs lukewarm. If you are replacing a heater in the next few years, it may be worth sizing up slightly or choosing a high-recovery model so it is ready for January after the switch. Water treatment chemistry also changes with a new source, so a softener that was essential on well water may need adjusting or may not be needed at all.

Repair or replace in Joliet

For a Joliet gas tank younger than eight, one bad thermocouple, igniter or relief valve is worth fixing. Hard deep-well water shortens tank life, so heaters past ten years with rust around the base, constant rumbling or a leaking seam are better replaced. Nicor Gas and ComEd have each run efficiency rebate programs at times; ask whether any apply before choosing between a standard tank, a heat pump model or tankless.

Around Joliet

Shorewood, Crest Hill, Romeoville, Minooka and Channahon are fellow members of the Grand Prairie Water Commission and also rely on wells today, each with its own permit office. Lockport and New Lenox to the north and east handle their own permits. Plainfield, northwest of Joliet, issues permits through its village hall, and Bolingbrook to the north already receives Lake Michigan water.

Water heater questions from Joliet