Few things feel better during a cold winter than a nice, hot shower. Few things can spoil a morning like jumping into a shower only to find the water is still ice cold.
Now you have a choice. Do you take a deodorant bath and try to hide the full night’s stench through intense overapplication under your pits? Or do you take the polar plunge into the icy water and in a matter of seconds lather, rinse, repeat?
If you learn to diagnose and possibly solve the problem, these aren’t your only two options.
Here are a few quick pointers for trying to diagnose your hot water not working in shower problem and see if you can fix the problem yourself or call a professional to get your morning back on the right foot.
Hot Water Not Working in Shower Due to Empty Tank
While many (usually warmer) parts of the world primarily use on-demand water heaters, likely your hot water comes from a hot water tank.
When there is a demand for hot water to the tank from the various appliances it is connected to, it brings in water from your primary supply into the tank. Inside the tank, there are heating elements which heat the water. The heated water rises to the top of the tank since hot water is less dense than cooler water, and from there is channeled to the source of the demand for hot water.
If you live in a home with many different appliances attached to this hot water heater, it may at times simply not be able to keep up with the demand if multiple appliances are running. This could drain the tank of hot water.
This same problem could happen if you live in an apartment building with a single hot water heater supplying multiple units.
If either of these problems is the case, it will take time for the tank to be able to resupply your shower with hot water. To speed this up, turn off any other appliance calling for hot water, such as a washer or dishwasher, and wait approximately 30 minutes.
If this still doesn’t fix the problem, it may be time to get some plumbing services to help with the next step.
Faulty Water Mixing Valve
In each shower that gets its water from a hot water tank, a mixing valve is used to regulate the temperature of the water right before it sprays out of the faucet.
It does this by adjusting the ratio of hot water and cold water depending on how warm you have the water set in your shower.
If you have hot water not working in the shower, this valve could be the source of the issue. It would probably be best to call a professional since the replacement process involves disassembling of parts of your shower fixtures.
Diagnose Right to Get the Problem Solved Right
Knowing how to diagnose a problem, such as hot water not working in shower, correctly can save you time and money by getting it solved the right way the first time.
Check out our blog for other great day-to-day lifestyle helpers.
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