"Frank" frankdotlogullo@comcastperiodnet wrote in message
...
Tom wrote:
Hi, this morning I cleaned up a mess in my basement caused by a water
leak. Most of the water was on the floor of the bathroom and surrounding
areas, including under the Whirlpool water heater that was installed 3 -
4 years ago.
I checked all the water pipes and fittings in the bathroom but they were
dry and apparently not the source of the leak.
After mopping up the water it appears no more water is leaking.

Would a leaking water heater cause this type of leak?

Because of a water leak (single drip every minute or so) in the cold
water pipe supplying the bath tub on the second floor I've been turning
off the water main supplying the house before going to bed and turning
it back on in the morning. This drip\leak is not the source of the water
leak in the basement.

Is there any reason turning on/off the water main, which is located in a
different place then where the water leak occurred, would cause a water
leak?.



I would suspect faulty water heater pressure relief valve. I've had that
problem a couple of times.

do you have pressure tank on hot water heater? closing off the main cut off
may give you less room for heat expansion of the water, so it blows out the
relief valve.