Why am I not getting any hot water
The hot water used in your home is usually coming from your water heater. Unexpected cold water may lead you to think that your water heater has broken down, there are a few other factors that could be causing you to get bursts of cold water:
Water Heater:
- Sediment buildup: If you do not get your water heater flushed regularly sediment can build up in the bottom of your water heater and reduce the effectiveness and capacity of your homes water heater.
- Dip Tube: A dip tube is a long tube that runs from the water line to the bottom of the water heater tank. It allows cold water to flow from the tube into the water heater, ensuring that it has time to be heated before flowing out of the tank. If the tube becomes cracked or broken, it can leak cold water directly into the hot water that is already in the tank.
- Slab leak: Slab leaks occur in the water pipes under your home. If a leak develops in a hot water pipe under the slab, most of your hot water will leak under your house before it reaches your sinks or showers leaving you with little to no hot water for your household needs.
- Usage/Capacity: It might seem obvious, but consider your timing for showering. Are there multiple people in the house using water? Has anyone else in the family just showered? Always allow 30 to 40 minutes after the last shower, or large water usage, to allow the heater to heat up the incoming cold water.
Pipes:
- In certain older homes, cross-connected pipes were installed to balance the flow of hot and cold water. If the pipes malfunction or break, this could lead to large bursts of cold water.
Faucets:
- Another way to determine if hot water is a problem throughout the whole house is by checking all of the faucets around the house. If every faucet produces an ongoing flow of hot water and your shower does not, then a shower component is most likely the culprit and not your water heater.
