Water heater problems – especially those that affect your water heater’s ability to produce hot water – are a huge nuisance. If the problem happens in winter, when hot water is not simply a luxury but an absolute necessity, Howzer Management warns the issue can endanger your household.
Why does your water heater suddenly stop making hot water, and what can you do about the problem?
Hot water issues can affect the entire home or a specific plumbing fixture. The right solution for the problem depends on the type of hot water issue in your home. This post explains the steps you can take if you are not getting hot water in your shower.
Why hot water is not coming out of your shower
If you notice the problem with all the plumbing fixtures in your home and all water-using appliances, you may assume issue is from the water heater itself. There are a few reasons why a water heater will not produce any hot water. The common ones are:
- If you have a gas water heater, the pilot light could have gone off, or the gas supply to the appliance has been cut off.
- For electric water heaters and electric tankless water heaters, the problem could be a break in the electricity supply or a circuit breaker trip.
- Corroded pipes and sediments inside the water heater can interfere with its ability to produce hot water.
- Lastly, there is a chance that someone has accidentally closed the valve on the water heater’s hot water pipe.
Sometimes you will experience the odd situation where you get hot water in the sink and other plumbing fixtures in your home but not from the shower. In this situation, the problem is clearly not from the shower. Here is how to solve the problem.
What to do when hot water is not coming from your shower
When you are getting hot water everywhere else in your home except the shower, the issue is usually because the shower’s anti-scald device is set too high or the shower mixer valve has malfunctioned. These are minor problems that are not hard to fix.
The anti-scald device is set too high
The anti-scald device, AKA “hot limit stop” or “rotational limit stop,” is a safety feature that protects you from getting blasted with excessively hot water in the shower. It controls the water temperature by limiting how far you can rotate the shower handle in the hot water direction.
The problem is the water temperature at the safe limit of the device may not be hot enough for you. The anti-scald device may also be set so high that you are not getting any hot water at all. To solve the problem, you must open the shower handle to adjust the settings on the device.
Follow these steps to adjust the anti-scald settings on your shower:
- Step one: Turn off the water supply to the shower. If you have individual controls for each fixture in your home, look for the shower controls. If you don’t have individual controls but a whole-house main water shut-off valve, turn it off.
- Step two: Remove the handle of the shower control (check that the water supply is actually turned off before you do this). Look for an opening underneath the handle where you can insert an Allen key. If your shower handle is attached with screws, unscrew them with the right screwdriver.
- Step three: Look for the anti-scald device: It should be sitting directly under the handle of the shower control. In most shower handles, it is a white plastic device with arrows showing which direction to turn the small plastic knob for either hot or cold water.
- Step four: Turn the anti-scald device by pulling it out and turning it slightly. Usually, you will be required to turn the device to the left to increase the water temperature. Turn the device just a little way and reassemble the shower control handle.
- Step five: Now, test the water from your shower to see if it is hot. Before you can do this, you must open the water shut-off valve. When testing the water, be sure to stick only a finger under the shower in case the water from the shower is too hot.
- Step six: if the water temperature is set too high or too low, repeat the steps above until you get the water temperature you want.
The water mixer valve is damaged
If you have done the above steps and hot water is still not coming out of your shower, it means your water mixer valve is probably bad. The water mixer valve controls water temperature by blending hot and cold water before delivering it through the showerhead.
If this valve is damaged – worn out, broken or dislodged – you need to dismantle the entire shower fixture to fix the problem. Fixing a damaged mixer valve is not something you should attempt to do yourself. For this job, you need the help of a professional plumber.
Please talk to your local plumber about the problem.