Water heaters are necessary for every home to provide hot water for showers, dishwashers, and washing machines. They are more like a luxury than a basic need as they are needed to make life more comfortable. Since they are human-made, they are prone to malfunctions and breakdowns. Below are some ways to detect some of those breakdowns ad how to repair them.

The water becoming unbearably hot.

If you are experiencing this problem either in your shower or the dishwasher, your heater’s thermostat is set way too high. This can be fixed by turning off the power of the water at the service panel and adjusting the temperatures to your desired settings on both thermostats by using a flathead screwdriver. You should ensure that both thermostats read the same. If you are unsure how to do it, you can contact water heater repair services in your area to fix the problem.

Water leakages

Leakages are caused by leaking valves, broken plumbing connections, or a corroded tank. You should look for any signs of looseness and tighten them with an element wrench. If your tank is corroded, it cannot be fixed but replaced. It would be best to drain the tank empty to prevent more leakages before replacement. Draining should be done after turning off the water and power supply to avoid electric fires.

Rust-colored water or foul-smelling water

Rust-colored water has a brown, yellow, and red tint and can indicate ongoing corrosions inside your tank. If the water running from your taps has a rotten-egg smell, it shows that there are bacteria in your water heater tank. To repair these malfunctions, you will require the services of a professional water heater repair plumber.

The water running from the tank is not hot.

A water heater that does not produce hot water may have tripped the limit switch, or other heating elements may have failed. To fix the limit switch trip, you should check whether the water heaters circuit breaker in the service panel has tripped and put it back on to complete the circuit. You can try resetting the high-temperature limit on the heater if the circuit breaker has not tripped. If your problem is not solved, you can test the heating elements and replace them if necessary.

No adequate hot water for use

A reduced hot water supply may be due to your tank being undersized compared to the amount of water required in the household. Another cause may be the failure of one of the heating elements. A supply of lukewarm water or hot water that runs out quickly can indicate a defective water heating element.

When dealing with water heaters, you should ensure that the power supply is turned off as they are high voltage appliances whish are dangerous to work with. If you are unsure how to fix the problem, you should contact a professional plumber. Ensure that you repair your water heater malfunctions to avoid accidents like electric fires.