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If you’ve never experienced a cold shower when you thought it was going to be hot, consider yourself lucky. There’s nothing worse than climbing into the shower in the morning, only to find that your hot water isn’t working.
In this situation, one of two options is likely. You can either endure a painful and bone-chilling shower, or you decide to cancel the shower idea and cover up with extra deodorant. Both sound fantastic, right?
The point is that no one should have to live with a cold shower! If your hot water isn’t working, here’s how to fix the problem. Following this troubleshooting guide, you’ll have the hot water back on in no time.
If you have a gas heater, then here are some troubleshooting tips to follow. Remember to call on licensed plumbers in Boca Raton to assist you with these steps. Trust us when we tell you, working on your gas heater alone can be a dangerous task. Always involve plumbing professionals.
Gas supply levels can often be the cause of no hot water. The first thing is to check your gas supply. You may have turned off the gas supply without realizing it. Sometimes the shut-off valve can be faulty and may need replacing. If your gas supply is inconsistent, it’s best to call a professional.
If you can’t see a flame coming from your gas heater, this means that the pilot light is off. This may be as simple as relighting the pilot flame. If your pilot light fails to ignite, check your inlet valve. If this is closed, then there won’t be any gas feeding to the pilot light. After opening the valve, try to ignite the pilot valve again.
Remember that many newer gas water heaters don’t have flames anymore. Instead, they often come with glow plugs or spark igniters. In this case, it’s best to call a professional plumber to help you troubleshoot the issue.
Gas leaks can be hard to see as gas is completely transparent and colorless, but they will give us a tell-tale sign. You can smell a leak! Gas leaks often smell like sulfur or rotten eggs when present. If you can smell any strange smells, immediately shut off your gas valve. You do this by pushing your gas valve downwards. Once closed, call a professional to check it out.
Electric water heaters have their own set of potential problems.
Here are some of the possible issues:
When your hot water isn’t working, sometimes it’s as simple as checking your breaker. Electric water heater breakers can sometimes trip, causing a hot water outage. To check this, open your circuit breaker box and check if a breaker has tripped. Just look for a breaker that is out of line with the other breakers. If you find one, press it back into position. This should re-activate your water heater. Remember that your heater may need some time to heat again.
Another issue can be a faulty cut-off switch. To fix this, you’ll need to turn off the high-temperature cut-off button. As you press it, you should hear a clicking noise. This will restore power back to the heater. If power isn’t restored, you may have a faulty switch. It’s best to call a licensed plumber to get to the root of the issue.
Heating elements in water heaters typically last for about 10 years. Once they give in, it’s best to replace them with a new one. To replace your heating element, make sure your water heater is turned off. An experienced plumber will be able to replace your element with the correct size.
Finally, you may have a broken water heater thermostat. Your thermostat controls your upper and lower heating elements. A faulty thermostat results in temperature fluctuations. If your temperature isn’t constant, or your hot water isn’t as hot as it used to be, it could be your thermostat.
If you’re looking for quality plumbing and electric services in Boca Raton, then look no further. Art Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electric are fully licensed to fix your water heater problems in no time at all. Don’t wait for that shock of a freezing shower! Call us for a water heater service today at 561-391-1048.
