If you have no hot water in your shower or kitchen faucet there may be one of several things wrong. Outlines below are the most common causes of no hot water and solutions, some of which you can repair and fix by yourself.
Faucet Cartridge Problems Limit Hot Water
Your faucet cartridge allows both hot and cold water into the spout, and if one of the inlet holes is clogged, or the cartridge is broken, hot water may not find its way into your tub or sink. You may fix the cartridge by replacing it with a new one, just turn off your water, take the handle off by removing the set screw, and then unscrew the bonnet or retaining nut. Slide the cartridge out and insert a new one.
Also make sure the handle is properly mounted and turns the stem on the cartridge beneath it. Try adjusting the limit stop as well, this is the part that acts like a scald guard and allows only so much hot water into the faucet.
Gas Water Heaters
Another common problem is a failing gas water heater. When the water heats does not heat up the water, there’s no hot water at all in the house. This means all appliances have no hot water, not just one. So, if only one faucet is lacking hot water, it’s probably the cartridge that is an issue.
Check you gas water heater’s pilot light, usually located underneath the unit behind a removable plate. If there is no flame, your pilot light is out and must be re-lit. You have to follow your owner’s manual to a tee to get the pilot light lit again. Normally, the unit will have a pilot light indicator on the gas dial.
Electric Water Heaters
An electric water heater often fails due to a burnt out or corroded element inside the tank. To replace this part you must drain the tank, remove the old element and install a new one. It is an involved process, but the most difficult part is draining the tank.
If this is the problem, all faucets will not have hot water.
Valves Turned Off
Another common cause of no hot water in a shower faucet or kitchen faucet is fairly simplistic and easy to fix. Every faucet, even the shower, has two water lines that supply water: one is hot, and the other is cold water. Each line has a shut off valve.
If the hot water line valve under the faucet is shut off, the appliance receives no hot water. You will get cold water but no hot water in the faucet. Other faucets will have hot water.