No hot water? Five things to check before you call

No hot water is never fun, especially on a cold morning. Before you call, these five checks take about ten minutes and sometimes solve it. If anything smells of gas, skip all of this, leave the house and call 911 or your gas company from outside.

1. Is it every tap, or just one?

If the kitchen has hot water and the shower doesn't, the heater is fine. The problem is that fixture, often a worn mixing valve in the shower. That is a normal repair, not an emergency.

2. For an electric heater: check the breaker

Find the breaker for the water heater in your panel. If it has tripped, switch it fully off and back on once. If it trips again, leave it off: something is wrong and it needs a technician.

3. For a gas heater: check the pilot light

Most older gas heaters have a small window near the bottom where you can see the pilot flame. If it is out, the instructions to relight it are on a label on the tank. Follow them exactly. If it won't stay lit, the thermocouple or gas control may have failed.

4. Check the gas supply and the thermostat

Is the gas valve on the pipe to the heater turned on (handle in line with the pipe)? Are other gas appliances working? Has anyone turned the heater's temperature dial down to "vacation" or the lowest setting?

5. Look for water around the base

Water pooling under the tank is a bad sign. A leak from the tank itself can't be repaired. Shut off the gas or power to the heater and close the cold water valve on the pipe going into the top, then call.

When to stop and call

• The breaker trips again, or the pilot won't stay lit
• Water is leaking from the tank
• You hear loud banging, or the relief valve is spraying
• You smell gas, or rotten eggs, near the heater (leave and call from outside)

No hot water is a phone call, not an online booking. Call us and we'll tell you when someone can get there.