Taking an accidental cold shower is the worst. When you have no hot water after turning the water back on, the effect can be a shock to your system. Although several things can go wrong, it’s usually the water heater. If you turned off the power or gas, it was a smart move. Your heater may need time. Sadly, if the water heater is busted, then you must replace it. I’ll walk you through everything you need to check to get that hot water flowing again. Water heaters can be surprisingly temperamental. If you’re lucky, it will be a quick fix. Sometimes you must wait for it to warm back up. If that doesn’t work, I’ll help you locate the problem, so you don’t have to freeze to get clean.
Why do I have no hot water after turning the water back on? If you turned the water off and have no hot water after turning it back on, your water heater cooled down. You may need to check to see the pilot light is on if you have a gas-powered heater. Otherwise, you should have hot water again soon. Be patient.
How Do I Get My Hot Water Running Again
Whatever the reason you had to turn the water off, getting that heated water running again is crucial. When you do the steps backward and turn everything back on again, but you have no hot water afterward, it’s frustrating. You could call a plumber, but it’s faster, less expensive, and more rewarding to do it yourself.
Locate your water heater and look to see if it is heating up. You can turn on a hot tap and check to make sure that everything is running as it should. Your water heater should kick on after a moment. If it doesn’t then it’s time to check for other problems. Follow the list below to figure out what is going wrong.
What To Check When There’s No Hot Water
So, you turned the water or the water heater off, and now you have no hot water after turning it back on. Are you doomed to cold showers? Of course not. I’ll walk you through everything you can check yourself to make sure the hot water turns back on.
- How long has it been? Hot water heaters take a few minutes, or more, to heat a thankful. Especially when the hot water was off for several hours, you may not have any left after the heat disbursed. Give it some time and try again.
- Inspect the water heater for leaks. If your hot water is on the floor, it won’t reach your sinks and showers. In this case, turn the water back off, clean up and repair or replace the tank itself.
- Is the water heater plugged in? Sometimes it’s a simple mistake, and the cord came loose. Plug it in, make sure it’s on and wait until the water heats up.
- Check to see if the power is on. Often doing repairs or remodels means turning off more than just the water. If you tripped a breaker, or flipped it off, then an electric water heater doesn’t have power. No power means no heat, hence no hot water. Turn the breaker back on and give it some time to heat the water.
- Do you have a gas water heater? Check the pilot light and make sure the gas is on. Turning this off is also SOP for making repairs. If the heater has no fuel, it won’t run. This also applies to temporary utility outages, so you can call the company if you aren’t getting gas you paid for.
- Check your hot water tank for sediment buildup. If the tank gets warm, but hot water isn’t flowing, built-up sediment or scale from hard water may have blocked your tank so the hot water isn’t getting out. Clean the tank and lines. Moreover, you should consider adding a filter or a water softener if you have hard water.
- What if an electric heater is working, but the water doesn’t get hot. You have a burned-out heating element. In this case you need to replace the part of your water heater that produces heat. Alternately, you could install a point of use water heater instead of fixing less efficient old technology.
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How Long Should I Wait For Hot Water To Come Back On
Recovery time on hot water heaters will vary by size, but there are several easy considerations when you turn things back on but you have no hot water. First, check to see if the tank is drained. It takes around twenty minutes for a fifty-gallon tank to refill completely.
After the tank is full, it will take another twenty minutes or so to heat up the water. Forty to forty-five minutes is average. However, it will take longer if you have a larger tank. Likewise, older heaters may run slowly, especially if they have not been maintained appropriately.
Check your water heater size. A small home may have a little water heater, between twenty-six and thirty-six gallons for one-room homes. Mid-size tanks are thirty-six to forty six gallons for two or three-bedroom homes.
Homes with more than four people often have the forty-six-to-fifty-six-gallon tanks. Larger tanks also exist, but they are less common in residential homes. It takes about ten minutes to fill and another ten to heat every twenty-five gallons. Adjust your expectations and wait time accordingly.
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No Hot Water Pressure But Cold Water Is Fine
Is the cold water on? When you turn water back on but you have no hot water afterward, there’s usually a simple answer. Especially when you had to turn off the hot water heater, the valve that releases hot water may be turned off.
Making repairs without leaks means turning the water of going to the heater, but you also turn of the water flowing out of the tank. Locate the valve that releases hot water from the tank and turn it.
If this doesn’t work, you have one of two other issues. Either your valve stem is broken, and it appears on, but the water flow is blocked, or your pipe is blocked with sediment. However, you should check other faucets as well.
When it’s only one faucet with no hot water pressure, the problem is with that faucet. Check the hot water pipes leading to the problem area. Pipe elbows tend to get clogged, but the faucet itself may have a problem in the line. You can clean or replace these by removing them.
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My Hot Water Heater Burner Is On But There’s No Hot Water
When a burner is on, but the water isn’t heating the water inside, it’s time for a simple solution. If you’ve turned everything back on but you have no hot water, try turning the heater off for a few seconds and turning it back on again. Ensure that the burner is producing heat again.
If this doesn’t work, then you either need a new burner for the electric water heater, or you need to replace the heater. Proceed with caution when replacing burners. However, this is also the ideal time to switch over to the energy-efficient point of use water heaters. Not only are these durable, but they save you money and avoid those huge tanks and long wait-times for hot water.
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Final Thoughts
From the dishwasher to the laundry, we all need hot running water. Any plumbing repair means turning the water off, but when you have no hot water after turning it back on, it’s a different problem. No one deserves that hassle. Hopefully, you only need to wait for the tank to warm back up.
Here is something interesting for you to read: water dripping inside washer is aggravating or why is my water yellow after installing water softener.
If you have hot water, but your shower isn’t getting warm, you may have a mixing valve issue. This has nothing to do with the heater itself. Instead, it’s a pipe and faucet issue where your hot water isn’t coming out at all. Make sure you check different sinks before you assume you have no hot water.
It’s hard to stay calm when you only have cold water, especially if you just fixed a different problem. Luckily, you know what to check and when to replace parts now so you can get back to that hot shower quickly.
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