It’s normal for a shower to run out of hot water every now and then. Especially when two or three people in a row take long showers, your water heater can get overloaded, and it may need 30 to 60 minutes to fully recover. If you happen to be standing in the shower when the hot water runs out, it’s definitely annoying, but, as any Edmonton plumber would tell you, it’s not necessarily a sign that there’s a problem with your water heater.
On the other hand, if your hot water runs out on a consistent basis, or if it routinely fails to last for more than a few minutes, this is a strong sign that your water heating system is going kaput. In this case, you will need an Edmonton plumber, and possibly a plumbing contractor, to come to your home and either fix your water heater or install a new one.
Before you call a plumber about fixing your hot water, it’s a good idea to do a little bit of investigation on your own. After doing so, you’ll be able to communicate to your plumber exactly the nature of your problem, and you may even find a way to fix the problem yourself.
Here are a few points to consider.
Have you checked the valve? Over time, water valves can gradually close themselves. Just to be safe, check your valve and make sure it’s open all the way.
Could it be in the plumbing? If your hot water regularly goes out, it’s possible that it has nothing to do with your water heater. To be sure, do a test: Next time the hot water in your shower goes out, test the other showers and taps in your home as soon as possible. If the other fixtures are unable to produce hot water, this means the problem is in your water heater. If the other taps and showerheads produce hot water like normal, this means the problem is in either the showerhead or the pipes leading to it. When you call your Edmonton plumber, this will be very useful information.
When does the problem occur? Again, it’s normal for hot water to run out when it’s been running for a long time. But it may also have to do with other factors such as the weather, simultaneous water usage in another part of the house, or even the time of day. Make note of when the hot water outages typically occur, and be prepared to share this information with your Edmonton plumber.
Is the showerhead old? Showerheads don’t last forever. In fact, they can significantly decline in quality after just a few months. So if you have the right tools to open your showerhead, check the inner workings for any signs of wear and tear. If anything inside appears to be in poor shape, or if there’s build-up inside the showerhead, this is more than enough to interfere with the hot water. In this case, you probably won’t need to find an Edmonton plumber. All you’ll need is to install a new showerhead, which is easy.
