No Hot Water in Shower! Why this Happened and How to fix it? [8 Effective Ways]

Are you constantly getting cold after even after turning on the heater for a long time?

Sometimes it may just be a small technical issue leading to a big problem. Almost nobody likes to get cold water when the weather outside is chilly. This means that the water may just become cold enough for you to skip the shower. But there is no way you can manage it every day.

A hot shower in the early morning is just the best way to keep you fresh and fit for the rest of the day. Still, this problem is very common in almost all homes. Almost all different homes may have different problems.

Some may have just lukewarm water instead of hot, some may just have a lower water heater capacity while some may have the heater broken from inside. In this guide, we will talk about all the possibilities and come to a solution for your no hot water in shower problem.

1. You Don’t Have Enough Hot Water

It may happen at times when you go through a busy schedule and a lot of people are using alternative bathrooms at the same time. There may be different situations altogether especially when there is an occasion taking place at your home and a lot of guests are coming over to your home.

There may also be situations when you have purchased some appliances like a dishwasher of a washing machine which is consuming a lot of hot water. This may be the cause of your lukewarm water or even the cold shower.

Coming to the specification of the appliances, any shower can easily consume around 10 gallons of hot water. It is around 6 gallons of hot water in case of a dishwasher.

However, most of the cloth washers may consume more than 7 gallons which means that running all these three appliances together will consume at least 23 gallons of water.

So theoretically, if two people just end up getting longer showers, it becomes fairly difficult to get hot water for the rest of the works. Any average water heater with almost 40 gallons of hot water may find it difficult to provide sufficient hot water.

The best way to get rid of this problem is to wait until nobody is using any of your hot water and you can get ample time to use it. However, if this is not working, you may need to try out another faucet. Even if this is not working, the best way would be to get a tankless water heater which is highly powerful to run your entire home.

2. Your Shower Valve Is Not Properly Adjusted

If you are constantly receiving lukewarm water, this may be another reason why you are getting such results. You can detect such issues even when nobody else is using the hot water at the same time and the temperature of the shower never feels to be comfortable for your bath.

Such problems are pretty common because of the lack of proper maintenance or even due to installation. In such a case, the shower valve stem needs to be adjusted.

This is mainly because that the shower valve comes along with a rotating object called the stop limit. It is a small plastic limiter that stops you to exceed the temperature and makes your heater stable.

Though it is mostly adjustable right from the beginning, due to pressure, there may be a shift in the valve. In such a case, the valve may be set up for a low temperature which is preventing you to get hot water. In such a case, you can simply follow this guide to manually adjust it.

1. Power off the heater and then try to remove the handle from the faucets.
2. Go deep into the metal cover and try to find out the valve stem. This will allow you to look for the RSL.
3. Once you identify the RSL, you can just manually adjust it. Be careful to touch it with your bare hands and consider drying them first. Try to adjust it counter-clockwise which will allow you to get more hot water.
4. Now you can replace the faucet handle and recheck for the temperature. You may see an increase in temperature, but if it is not what you are expecting, simply repeat the process. However, if it does not change at all, consider hiring a technician.

Following these steps may fix up your problem of hot water not working in shower only.

3. Your Hot Water Heater Isn’t Set To a Hot Enough Temperature

Apart from the technical issues, you may feel the shower water not hot but it is not reaching the high temperature that you are looking to get.

However, even if you face this issue while the faucet it at the highest, there may be some greater problems for you. Most of the heaters come with manual and automatic adjustable temperature ranges.

However, the perfect temperature to set is just around 120 degree Fahrenheit. This specific set of temperature range allows the water heaters to deliver a balance of hot water as well as regular water.

However, in some of the heaters, you may find the option to easily manually turn the dial and set it to a different temperature range. You can also use a digital interface to monitor the temperature of the water heater. This allows the heater to reset the temperature and get back to the original temperature.

However, if this does not go through, you can look for the panel. Turn off the power and open the panel housing. Check for the temperature dial and then adjust it. If you are unsuccessful in doing this, you can try to opt for a technician and he will fix your problem of the shower not getting hot.

4. Your Shower Mixing Valve Is Faulty

At times, the fault may not just be due to the heater. There may be problems with your shower mixture as well. You can easily detect this if you find out that the shower mixture is not providing you similar results like the other faucets in the home.

The mixing valve is responsible for mixing up both cold and hot water and delivering it to the shower.

Since they are very light, it is very easy for these valves to easily break, tear-off or face some damages. So if you find such issues, consider purchasing a new one. Shower valves are easily available at a cheap rate which will allow you to easily replace them.

You can consider manually replacing the valve, but if you are not a professional, consider calling a technician. This can fix your problem of no hot water in shower.

5. Your Hot Water Heater Isn’t Turning On

Technical defects in the water heater can be a regular issue. You may have some maintenance issues if the geyser is not turning on at times. However, here are a few common problems which you may face at times:

Gas Heaters

1. The pilot light may be burned out and at times it may cause the heater not to ignite. However, you need to contact a technician to relight it.
2. The gas supply in the heater is now empty and now there is no gas left. In such a situation, check for all the gas lines and the valves. Try to find out any type of leaks available in the valve or the gas lines.
3. At times, the burner may not work properly. In such a situation, you need to simply replace or buy a new burner. You can opt for repairing the burner, but if the heater is too old, you may need to purchase a new one.
4. You may have a gas leak. Gas leaks are not too uncommon problems in a gas heater. If you smell gas, you may need to immediately turn off the gas lines and leave your home. There may be chances of explosion. Immediately call for the professionals to repair.

Electric Heaters

1. The circuit breaker could face some problems. Check for any short circuits in the geyser. For this, you can check for the electrical panel. If you do not find anything wrong, reset the switch. However, if you see that the same issue is still going on, the heater may be faulty. Ask for a proper installation again.
2. Problems in the auto cut-off switch. Every electric heater comes along with a temperature cut-off switch. In such a situation, you can look for the button available in the panel. Try to press the button and if nothing happens, you need to replace it.
3. The tank may leak. In such a case, you need to contact the maintenance and then immediately look for replacements.

6. Your Dip Tube Is Broken

The dip tube is the most important part of any water heater and with the age of the heater, it may be broken or may be damaged in many ways. The main function of the dip tube is to send cold water to the bottom of the tank.

In the case of storage water heaters, without sufficient cold water, it becomes difficult for the heater to raise the temperature.

It may show to be working fine, but you may not receive any hot water supply from the geyser. The tube is made up of plastic. But because of high pressure, the dip tube can face regular issues.

This means that the cold water tends to leak and collect on top of the tank. Then this water goes up without being heated and flows down the shower.

However, if you are facing this issue regularly, it will reflect in some of the faucets. The water pressure will start falling from all the other faucets present with the dip tube. In such a situation, it is very evident that you need to replace the dip tube and get effective results.

7. Cross-connected Pipes

Similar to the mixing valve present in the showers, the cross-connected pipes do have the same feature. But it is installed in places where there is no mixing valve present. The cross-connected pipes are installed to mix both the hot water and the cold water in the right proportions.

If you are using a hot water shower and constantly receiving cold water, the cross-connection may be an issue. In such a situation, you need to check the cross pipes again so you can refer to this cross-connection control manual. It is difficult to do it completely by yourself and you may need a professional. So look for a professional to do your job.

8. Keep It Simple

Sometimes, you may not need an expert vision to detect the problems that you are facing. Even a simple solution is good to go for your results. In the case of a gas-powered heater, check for the essentials like the pilot light, the gas leaks and even the availability of gas.

In case of an electric water heater, check for the circuit and the fuse. Try to keep things as simple as possible. It allows you to get the fruitful results that you are looking for.

Wrapping Up

If there is no hot water in shower and you are not receiving hot water duly from the heater, there may be several reasons. The problems may be in any of the heater and the faucets or even in the mixing valves or even in all of them. So it is very important to detect the problems and then go for the solutions.

You can easily try any of the solutions available. However, if these tips do not work properly, it is very important to contact a professional and get the results that you are looking for. Also, if you are planning to buy a water heater for your shower then I think you must spare sometime to find the best point of use water heater for yourself.