A dedicated return line
Newer and custom homes often have a third pipe running from the farthest fixture back to the water heater. A pump at the heater keeps hot water moving around that loop.
The best version, if your house already has the pipe.
Hot Water Recirculation Pumps in Northern Virginia
A plumbing diagnosis visit is $49, or $250 after hours, and the pump is priced in writing before anything is ordered. It’s the fix for standing at the far bathroom waiting for the water to turn hot.
Get your price in writing
Send this and the office calls or texts you back to set a time.
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Rather talk now? (703) 997-9757
- Hot water in seconds, not a minute
- Retrofits with no new pipe
- Tank and tankless water heaters
5.0 stars across 1,132 reviews
Licensed and insuredVirginia Class A contractor #2705192276
24/7 emergency serviceOften same-day, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Our own plumbers, our own trucksNobody here is a subcontractor with a magnet on the door
The price is settled before the workYou see the number in writing before anything is taken apart
How it works
Three ways to get hot water
to the far tap first
Without a pump, the cold water sitting in the hot pipe has to run down the drain before the hot water gets there. A recirculation pump keeps the hot water close to the tap instead.
A retrofit with a crossover valve
No return pipe? A pump at the water heater and a small valve under the farthest sink send the cooled water back through the cold line instead, so no walls get opened.
The trade-off: that sink’s cold tap can run lukewarm for a few seconds at first.
Built into a tankless water heater
Some tankless water heaters carry a recirculation pump inside, like Navien’s A2 models, so the loop runs off the heater itself.
Choosing a water heater anyway? Water heater prices.
Timer, thermostat or button
Running it only when
the house needs hot water
- On demand: press a button, or let a motion sensor start it, a minute before the shower. The pump runs a short while and stops. The least energy of the three.
- On a timer: it runs in the morning and the evening when the house uses hot water, and rests overnight.
- On a thermostat: it switches on when the water in the line cools and off when it’s hot again.
- Insulate the hot water pipe you can reach, so less heat is lost around the loop.
One of our plumbers on the gas and water connections under a Navien tankless water heater in a Northern Virginia basement.
Is it worth it?
When a recirculation pump
is worth putting in
- Worth it when the far bathroom or the kitchen waits a long time for hot water, the main bedroom is at the other end of the house from the water heater, or the house is big and spread out.
- Less worth it when the water heater sits right under the bathroom that uses it most.
- Every wait runs clean water down the drain. The pump keeps that water in the pipes.
- Replacing the water heater? That’s the easiest time to add a pump, while the plumbing at the heater is already open.
- Water slow to turn hot everywhere, not just at the far tap? That can be the water heater: what to check when there’s no hot water.
What it costs
Hot water recirculation
pump prices
Our own prices in Northern Virginia, not a national average. Yours is written down before any work starts.
Plumbing diagnosis visit
$49
A plumber at the house to look at the water heater and the pipe run, and price the pump. $250 after hours.
Hot water recirculation pump installed
Priced at your house
A pump at the water heater with a crossover valve under the farthest sink, or on your return line, set on a timer or a button. Most of ours go in with a new water heater, while the plumbing there is already open.
A new return line
Priced at your house
Running a dedicated return pipe means opening walls or ceilings, so a plumber looks first.
How the call goes
Four steps, and you
approve the third one
Often same-day, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there. We run 24/7 emergency service.
- 1
You call, we tell you when
A person answers, day or night, and gives you a real arrival window and a call when the plumber is on the way.
- 2
Diagnosis, $49
The plumber looks at the water heater, finds the farthest fixture and whether there’s a return line, and prices the pump.
- 3
The price, in writing
Before anything is cut, opened up or ordered. Approve it or don’t, and nobody makes a no awkward.
- 4
Installed and tested
The far tap run until it’s hot, timed, with the pump’s control set, before we leave.
Who turns up at the door
Licensed plumbers from Chantilly,
not a call center
SwiftPro is family owned and based on Lafayette Center Drive in Chantilly, and every plumber who comes to your house works for us.
- A dedicated plumbing team. Our plumbers do plumbing every day, and our heating and cooling team is a separate team. When a gas line feeds a furnace, both trades are in the same company.
- Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276.
- Fully insured. BBB Accredited with an A rating.
- 5.0 stars across 1,132 reviews, and you can read them all.
- More about the people: about SwiftPro.
The SwiftPro plumbing team in front of our wrapped vans, with the drain machine, sewer camera and water jetter they bring to the job.
Where we work
Plumbing in every
Northern Virginia town we serve
Out of Chantilly and Ashburn, across Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington, Fauquier and Stafford, and a lot of these calls come from Alexandria, Fairfax, Springfield, Herndon, Reston and Annandale. Pick your town for its plumbing page.
Fairfax County
Arlington County
Loudoun County
Prince William County
Fauquier County
Stafford County
Other plumbing jobs
More plumbing repairs,
priced the same way
Every one of these has its own page with our prices, what usually causes it and what to do first.
Toilet repair$250 to $900Running, leaking at the base, rocking or clogging.Faucet and sink repair$150 to $400Drips, leaks under the sink, new faucets and sinks.Garbage disposal repair$550 to $900 replacedHumming, jammed, leaking or dead.Shower and tub repair$250 to $450Drips, temperature swings, spouts, drains and valves.Pipe repair$450 to $650Burst pipes, pinhole leaks and frozen pipes.Gas plumber$250 to $500Gas leaks, cap-offs, new lines and hookups.Drain cleaning$200 to $800One slow fixture, or the main line to the street.Sump pump repair$697 replacedRunning nonstop, won’t turn on, alarms.Sewage ejector pumpsBasement bathroom alarms, smells and backups.
Asked on the phone
Recirculation pump questions,
answered straight
How much does a hot water recirculation pump cost to install?
A hot water recirculation pump is priced at your house, and a plumbing diagnosis visit is $49, or $250 after hours. A house that needs a new return line run is priced at the house, because the price is the distance and the walls in between.
Do I need a return line for a recirculation pump?
No. A retrofit pump with a crossover valve under the farthest sink uses the cold line to bring the cooled water back. A dedicated return line works best, if your house already has one.
Does a recirculation pump work with a tankless water heater?
Yes, with a model built for it. Some tankless water heaters have a recirculation pump inside, and others need the right pump and settings so the heater doesn’t fire over and over.
Why does my cold water run warm since the pump went in?
That’s the crossover valve under the sink sending cooled hot water back through the cold line. It clears in a few seconds. A timer or an on-demand button keeps it from happening all day.
Does a recirculation pump waste energy?
Left running nonstop, it keeps the pipes hot all day and wastes the energy it’s meant to save. On a timer, a thermostat or an on-demand button, it runs only when the house uses hot water.
My recirculation pump stopped working. Can you fix it?
Check that it’s plugged in, its timer is set and the breaker’s on. If it hums but the far tap is still cold, or it’s gone quiet, the plumber looks at the pump, its check valve and the crossover valve.
Tired of waiting for hot water?
Call, or tell us
how long the wait is
Call, or send the form at the top and the office calls or texts you back to set a time.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276
Prices are SwiftPro’s own in Northern Virginia; yours is written down at the house before any work starts, and the diagnosis visit is separate from the repair. Navien is a trademark of its owner.