Water heater repair in Fort Washington, PA

Who supplies water in Fort Washington

Most homes in Fort Washington, Dresher and Maple Glen get their water from Aqua Pennsylvania, which runs an interconnected system across the southeastern counties that combines treated creek and river water with groundwater pumped from local wells. A smaller slice of Upper Dublin and Whitemarsh near the Ambler line is served instead by the Borough of Ambler Water Department, whose franchise area covers the borough and pieces of the townships around it. The name printed on your quarterly bill settles which one serves your Fort Washington street.

The local wells draw on rock formations that leave the water moderately hard to hard. In practice that means a pale crust inside kettles, white flakes in the strainer of the hot side faucet, and a tank bottom that slowly fills with mineral grit. Upper Dublin tankless owners should plan on routine descaling as part of the deal.

Fort Washington residents have also followed the PFAS story from the former military bases in nearby Horsham and Warminster. In 2018 Aqua took its Upper Dublin wells offline after low levels of PFAS were found, levels well below the federal advisory of the time, and moved to add treatment. That is a drinking water question rather than a water heater one, and Aqua's current water quality report is the place to check where things stand today.

Colonials, split-levels and townhouses

Fort Washington takes its name from a fortification the Continental Army built on the hills here during the winter of 1777, and colonial landmarks such as Hope Lodge still stand along Bethlehem Pike. The housing around them is mostly much newer. Upper Dublin filled in after the Turnpike and Route 309 arrived, and the streets off Susquehanna Road, Fort Washington Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue filled with center-hall colonials, split-levels and ranches during the postwar decades.

Upper Dublin heaters of that era generally live in a full basement or a lower-level utility room by the furnace, most often a PECO-fed gas tank of 40 or 50 gallons. Townhouse developments from the 1980s and later, especially near the office park and along the Whitemarsh side, more often have heaters in a closet or garage, and some run electric tanks. Larger homes in Maple Glen and along the Whitemarsh hills sometimes carry two heaters or an indirect tank fed by the boiler.

Sandy Run, the Wissahickon and Ida

The Wissahickon Creek and its tributary Sandy Run meet near Fort Washington State Park, and the low ground along them has flooded repeatedly. A large share of the Fort Washington Office Park sits in the floodplain and has been swamped many times over the decades. On September 1, 2021, the remnants of Ida flooded roads and stranded drivers here, and a tornado from that storm tracked from Fort Washington toward Horsham, damaging homes along the way.

For homeowners, the lesson is about basements. Houses near Sandy Run, Pine Run and the Wissahickon can see groundwater seep in during long rains, and sump pumps that fail during a power outage let water reach the heater. A gas heater whose burner, gas control or wiring was submerged needs replacing rather than drying out. In winter, cold snaps push incoming water into the low 40s and slow recovery in a tank that is already crusted with scale.

Frequent water heater problems in Fort Washington

• Mineral grit packing the tank bottom on hard Aqua well water, causing rumbling and lost capacity.
• Burned-out lower elements in electric tanks in townhouses, often from scale building up around them.
• Flood-damaged gas valves in basements near Sandy Run and the Wissahickon.
• Tankless units throwing scale codes after a few years without descaling.
• Relief valves dripping onto basement floors as mineral deposits keep them from seating.
• Heaters past their fifteenth year in original 1960s and 1970s split-level utility rooms.

A townhouse tank with a dead element gets sorted out through our element and thermostat service for Upper Dublin, and error codes on a scaled tankless unit are handled in tankless service around Dresher.

Typical Fort Washington water heater costs

Upper Dublin and Whitemarsh sit among the pricier parts of the Philadelphia suburbs for trade work. Bills climb when a finished lower level has to be opened up, when a garage install needs protection from vehicles, or when a tankless conversion needs a bigger gas line from the PECO meter.

Permits: Upper Dublin or Whitemarsh

Because Fort Washington spans two townships, the first step is figuring out whether your lot is in Upper Dublin or Whitemarsh. Most of the area, including the office park and the neighborhoods east of Bethlehem Pike, belongs to Upper Dublin Township, whose code enforcement office is in the township building on Loch Alsh Avenue. The western edge toward the state park and Lafayette Hill belongs to Whitemarsh, whose code staff work out of the Lafayette Hill township building.

Pennsylvania has no statewide plumbing license. Montgomery County townships each decide how to qualify plumbers, and many accept a license earned through a regional testing board and then require yearly registration with the township. Ask whether your plumber is registered in the township where you live, and make sure the Fort Washington quote lists a Pennsylvania home improvement contractor registration. A heater replacement in either township should be permitted and inspected.

Taming hard water in Upper Dublin homes

Scale is the slow enemy of heaters in this part of Montgomery County. On a gas tank, minerals settle on the bottom and insulate the water from the burner, which wastes fuel and overheats the steel. On an electric tank, scale collects around the lower element until it burns out. Draining a few gallons from the valve each season, and doing a full flush every year or so, keeps much of it from hardening in place.

Some Fort Washington owners install a water softener, which protects fixtures and appliances but should be set up so the heater still gets correct anode protection. Others pick a tank built with a scale-stirring inlet tube or a powered anode rod. Before choosing, skim scale basics for Upper Dublin homeowners, which weighs softeners against simpler upkeep.

Repair or replace in Fort Washington

When a Fort Washington tank is still young and the trouble is a single part, such as a thermocouple, element, thermostat or gas valve, fixing it usually pays. When a 12-year-old tank starts seeping from the shell, or flood water has reached the burner, replacing the heater is the sensible call. PECO incentives have come and gone at times; a heat pump unit can suit a dry, finished basement here, though not a damp one.

Around Fort Washington

Ambler is a borough with its own permit office and its own water department. Dresher and Maple Glen are also part of Upper Dublin, with larger 1970s and 1980s homes. Horsham Township to the north, home of the former Willow Grove air base, runs its own codes office. Lafayette Hill and Plymouth Meeting lie in Whitemarsh and neighboring townships to the south and west, and Blue Bell in Whitpain Township has its own inspections.

Water heater questions from Fort Washington