Troubleshooting Common Problems with Your Water Heater

If you go to turn on your hot water and you find that only cold water comes out of the faucet, you want to try to fix the problem on your own. It may be a simple problem that requires very little from you in the way of repairs. If your water has turned cold, you should try the following.

Make sure it's plugged in all the way

While it's rare for a water heater to become unplugged, it can happen if someone has been around the water heater recently. Since this would be the easiest fix, it is the one you should start with.

Check the fuse box

The fuse may have tripped in the fuse box and this is causing your water heater to not get any power. Go to the fuse box and make sure the fuse is still on. You should flip it to off and back to on anyway, just to make sure it wasn't partially tripped. If this was the problem, then the water heater will start functioning properly again.

Click the reset button

Another possible problem that can stop your water heater from working is if it needs to be reset. Your water heater has a built in safety device that causes it to shut down automatically if the water gets too hot. When this happens, the reset button will need to be pressed to get the water heater working again. This button is a red button located on the water heater near the thermostat. Push it in and if it goes in, then this was the problem and your water heater should kick on and begin working.

If the water heater isn't producing enough hot water

If your water heater is working, but the water heater is suddenly not hot enough then you probably need to adjust the thermostat. Be careful not to set it too high or it can cause accidental burns when someone uses the hot water.

Now that you know about the simple fixes for your water heater, you are in a better position of taking care of the issues on your own. If the tips above don't resolve your issues, then there may be other issues such as something wrong with the internal parts of your water heater or the connections. In this case, you should call out a plumber like Ideal Plumbing & Heating to come look at the water heater for you.


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