A dripping relief valve is a message
Water running from the pipe on the side of the tank means the valve is opening on pressure or temperature. Don’t cap it. Call, because something upstream is causing it.
Fairfax Station, Virginia
Water heater repair in Fairfax Station.
For water heater repair in Fairfax Station, the plumbing visit to find what’s wrong is $49, or $250 after hours. Call SwiftPro, rated 5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews, at (703) 997-9757, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
SwiftPro’s plumbers in Fairfax Station are rated 5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews and work under Virginia Class A contractor license 2705192276. Water heater repair in Fairfax Station: big detached houses from the 1980s and 90s, where one tank serves a long way to the farthest shower. The repair, a thermocouple, a gas valve, an element or a thermostat, is priced in writing at the tank before we start.
- The failed part named before the price
- Our own licensed plumbers
- Fired up and tested before we leave
5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews
Two of our plumbers at a gas water heater in a Northern Virginia basement.
Get your price in writing
Send this and the office calls or texts you back to set a time.
We’ll call or text this number about your request. By sending it you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Rather talk now? (703) 997-9757
Licensed and insuredVirginia Class A contractor #2705192276
24/7 emergency serviceWe answer day or night, 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
What it costs
What water heater repair costs in Fairfax Station.
The visit fee is the same one on our plumbing price list. What usually fails, and when it’s the tank itself, is in our water heater repair guide.
Plumbing diagnosis visit
$49
Plumbing diagnosis visit, after hours
$250
Water heater repair (thermocouple, gas valve, element, thermostat, burner)
Priced in writing at the tank, before we start
Prices checked .
Where the repair lands depends on the part: a thermocouple or an element is a short job, a gas control valve takes longer and costs more, and either way you see the number before we start.
Water coming out of the tank body itself can’t be repaired. That’s a replacement, and the installed prices for one are on our water heaters page.
What’s different in Fairfax Station
In Fairfax Station the tank is usually fine; the house is just a long way from it.
Almost every home in 22039 is a detached house, and eight in ten went up in the 1980s and 90s. They’re roomy, with the water heater in a basement or a garage corner, and the farthest bathroom can be a long pipe run away. So the complaint we hear is not always no hot water. It’s hot water that takes forever to arrive, or runs out when two showers go.
That points to different parts than a dead tank. A weak lower element, a sediment-clogged bottom or a dip tube that has cracked all make a tank deliver less than its size says. On a gas tank, a burner that is lighting but fouled does the same. Before we recommend a bigger tank or a new one, we test what the one you have is actually putting out.
About six in ten owners here heat with gas and about a third with electricity, with a small share on propane or other fuels. We confirm which you have before anything is opened. The labels are old on a tank of this age, and the fuel tells us the parts list.
One more thing out here: these houses sit on large lots and many are a long way from the shop of any plumber who doesn’t cover the area. That’s why we’d rather you call at the first drip than wait for a flood in a finished basement. The repair price is written at the tank, and our repair guide explains how we decide.
Neighborhood by neighborhood
What fails on water heaters across Fairfax Station.
Census figures for the owner-occupied homes in each place, and what usually fails on the water heaters in houses like them.
| Place | Median home built | Most homes are | Heated with | What usually fails |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax Station | 1982 | single-family houses, about 9 in 10 | gas, about 5 in 10 | The pilot, the igniter or the vent fan on a gas tank. |
| South Run | 1988 | single-family houses, nearly all | gas, about 9 in 10 | The pilot, the igniter or the vent fan on a gas tank. |
| Crosspointe | 1993 | single-family houses, nearly all | gas, about 8 in 10 | The pilot, the igniter or the vent fan on a gas tank. |
By the numbers
Fairfax Station houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey. Median year built and heat count owner-occupied homes only.
Fairfax Station
ZIP 22039 as a whole: every Fairfax Station address. The Fairfax Station Census place in the table also takes in streets with Fairfax mail.
- Median home built1988 Census
- Built before 1980about 1 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000about 1 in 10 Census
- Most homes aresingle-family houses, nearly all Census
- Heated withgas, about 6 in 10 Census
- Rentedhardly any Census
- Most homes here are detached houses with the tank in a basement or garage, where there’s room to work and a floor drain nearby.
The signs
When a Fairfax Station water heater needs a repair.
No hot water at all
On a gas tank that’s usually the pilot, the thermocouple that keeps it lit, or the gas valve. On an electric tank, it’s usually an element or the reset that tripped.
Hot water runs out fast
A shower that goes cold in five minutes often means a failed lower element on an electric tank, or a tank so full of sediment that it heats far less water.
Need water heater repair in Fairfax Station?
A person answers day and night. See this month’s deals before you call.
Choosing who does it
How to pick who repairs a water heater in Fairfax Station.
Questions to ask anybody who looks at your tank, us included.
Did they test the output before recommending a bigger tank?
Measuring the hot water temperature at the tank and at the farthest tap tells you whether you need a bigger heater or just a repair.
Did they name the part before quoting a new tank?
A plumber who goes straight to replacement without testing the thermocouple, the valve or the elements may be selling you a tank you don’t need.
Did they check the relief valve and the venting?
A repair that leaves a stuck relief valve or a bad vent connection behind isn’t finished. Ask what else they looked at while the cover was off.
Two of our crew going over a work order before the day's calls.
From our Google reviews
What our customers say.
5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
James is a wealth of knowledge who provided a competitive estimate to replace our hot water heater. He is professional and courteous. Thank you for a great first call.
- 5.0stars across 1,130 reviewsHow we count them
- ABBB Accredited, A ratingCheck it on bbb.org
- 2026Voted a Nextdoor Neighborhood Faves winner two years running: 2026 in 30 Northern Virginia neighborhoods, 2025 in Emerald Chase (Herndon) and Hunters Run (Chantilly)See it on Nextdoor
- #1BusinessRate Best of 2026: the top-ranked heating contractor in Fairfax, VirginiaSee our BusinessRate score
- Class AVirginia contractor, license #2705192276Look it up with DPOR
Where we work
Water heater repair in every Northern Virginia town we serve
Next door to Fairfax Station: Burke, Clifton, Springfield, Annandale and Lorton.
Fairfax County
Arlington County
Loudoun County
Prince William County
Fauquier County
Stafford County
Every town on one page
Questions
Water heater repair questions from Fairfax Station.
Why does my Fairfax Station water heater run out so fast?
A bad lower element, sediment at the bottom or a failed dip tube all shrink what a tank can deliver. It’s worth testing before you replace it.
Is a drip from the relief valve an emergency?
Not tonight, but soon. It can mean high pressure in the house or a tank running too hot, and both are worth finding.
How much is water heater repair in Fairfax Station?
The visit to find what’s wrong is $49, $250 after hours. The repair is priced in writing at the tank, before we start, because a thermocouple and a gas valve are very different jobs.
Should I repair my water heater or replace it?
Repair it when the tank is sound and a part failed. When the tank itself leaks, it’s a replacement, and we’ll show you where the water is coming from before you decide.
Ready when you are
Get the hot water back on.
Call, or send the form at the top. We find what failed, show you the part, and you get the repair price in writing before we touch it.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
SwiftPro Plumber & Water Heaters
4200 Lafayette Center Dr, Suite N, Chantilly, VA 20151
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is a licensed, BBB Accredited (A rating), independently owned heating, cooling and plumbing company in Chantilly, serving Fairfax Station and the rest of Northern Virginia. Virginia contractor license #2705192276. 5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook. SwiftPro maintains a dedicated HVAC team and a dedicated plumbing team.
From SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing in Chantilly. Housing figures are the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024, for each place named; permit, water and sewer facts link to each office’s own page and were checked in September and October 2026.