7 Causes of No Hot Water in Your Home During Winter
We’ve all been there: we go to take a nice hot shower and all of a sudden there’s no hot water. You either have to take a really cold shower or opt for a sponge bath. Having no hot water can be extremely frustrating, especially during the cold and freezing winter season.
Depending on the issue, there are many different fixes to there being no hot water in your home. An emergency plumber can diagnose the issue and quickly restore the hot water. Often, the fix depends on whether your hot water tank is powered by gas or electricity. But what causes there to be no hot water in your home?
Let’s take a closer look at the seven causes of no hot water in your home:
Cause #1: Pilot Light is Out
Do you have a hot water tank that is powered by gas? If so, a common cause of no hot water is because the pilot light went out. The pilot light’s purpose is to provide the flame needed to light the gas coming out of the main burner.
When the furnace goes on, there’s a valve that works by releasing gas into the burner and then the pilot light ignites that gas. The pilot light being out has many causes including a dirty pilot tube, a kink in the flex tube, an obstruction in the thermocouple, a damaged thermocouple, or a main control valve issue.
Cause #2: Faulty Heating Element
A faulty heating element is one of the most causes of no hot water in your house. It’s quite easy for a heating element to fail and will happen to all-electric water heaters at some point during their lives. To solve this issue, you need to replace the water heater element, but fortunately, this is an easy fix that should get your hot water flowing again in no time.
Cause #3: Damaged Burner
Heating your hot water tank with gas and find that you’re without hot water? You may have a damaged burner that either got burnt or is dirty. This is usually the result of soot building up which prevents the burner from igniting.
Thankfully, this is an easy fix. All you need to do is carefully remove the burner, give it a good cleaning, and put it back in. Problem solved!
Cause #4: Faulty Thermostat
When you have a hot water tank that is powered by electricity, there could likely be no water flowing to your home because of a faulty thermostat. This is usually caused by the upper thermostat controlling both the upper and lower heating elements.
Since the lower thermostat works by controlling the lower heating element, if you find your water isn’t getting hot enough, a problem here is usually the cause. But have no fear! All you need to fix this issue is to replace your thermostat and then you’ll have your precious hot water flowing again!
Cause #5: Improper Ventilation
The flue (a duct for smoke and waste gases produced by a heater or other fuel-burning installation) that is in your gas-powered hot water tank may have become obstructed. This happens from things like storms. Wind can even blow down the flue, which can, unfortunately, blow out the pilot light.
It’s so important to have proper ventilation, so make sure to look into this issue and be prepared to change things up if this is the cause.
Cause #6: Tripped Reset Button
If you’re experiencing repeated tripping to your electric hot water tank, it could be the result of a tripped reset button. This is also a quick fix so there’s no need to panic just yet. All you need to do to correct this hot water issue and get your hot water running again is to reset the hot water tank. That should fix it and if it does not, you may need to go a step further and have the component replaced.
Cause #7: Tripped Circuit Breaker
No hot water? Take a quick look to see if the circuit breaker somehow got tripped. You can easily spot this since, in the off position, the circuit breaker will no longer be in line with the other breakers. Maybe you were fixing lights in your home and accidentally tripped the wrong breaker. Whatever the cause, this is one of the easiest fixes and all you have to do is flip the circuit breaker back into the “on” position.
If the hot water isn’t working in your home then you may have to investigate some or all of these causes, taking care to make sure you’re looking at a solution for the type of hot water tank you have. We hope one of these causes is the cause and that you’re able to get your hot water flowing again as soon as possible! Good luck!
