3 Common Hot Water Problems and Their Solutions

When you turn on your shower in the morning, does it take several minutes for the hot water to arrive? Do you get a cold shower if you are the last one in the house to get up? Is your hot water pressure less than ideal?

You are not alone. These are some of the most common complaints among Framingham homeowners. Find out the causes and solutions to each of these common hot water problems.

Problem: Water Takes Several Minutes To Heat Up

When you turn on the hot water faucet in your shower, kitchen or bathroom, do you have to wait for several minutes for the water to heat up? When we see this plumbing problem in Framingham area homes, the most common cause is a long distance between the faucet and the water heater.

Before you turn on the faucet, there is cold water in the pipes between the faucet and the water heater. The longer the distance between these two points, the more time it will take for you to get hot water.

One way you can avoid this problem is by brushing your teeth with hot water. This will allow the cold water to clear out of the pipes before you turn on your shower. Another option is to install a small point-of-use water heater in your bathroom.

• Cause: Long run of plumbing/pipe
• Solution: Install point-of-use tankless water heater

Problem: Hot Water Stops After Several Showers

If you live in a home with several people or regularly have guests over, you have probably noticed this problem. After several showers, your tank water heater runs out of hot water, leaving everyone else with cold showers.

There are really two solutions to this problem. You can either install a larger tank water heater or upgrade your unit to a tankless water heater. A tankless water heater heats your water on demand, so you will not ever run out of hot water from too many showers.

• Cause: Small tank water heater
• Solution: Install larger tank water heater or tankless water heater

Problem: Low Hot Water Pressure

Although less common than the previous plumbing problems, this one is not unusual. Do you have great water pressure on the cold setting that gets progressively worse as you turn it to hot? Your hot water pipes may be clogged with deposited minerals.

Water contains dissolved minerals. The process of heating the water can often cause these minerals to deposit in your water heater tank or become lodged in your hot water pipes. To prevent this, you should have your water heater flushed annually. If you already have this problem, you probably need to contact a professional plumber to have them clear your pipes.

• Cause: Clogged hot water pipes
• Solution: Water heater flush and/or clearing of pipes

Hot water is something we all take for granted – until it isn’t readily available. If you need help with a hot water problem, contact Nicholson Plumbing today.

Nicholson provides plumbing heating and air conditioning services to Framingham, MA and the surrounding areas.