“For a while, I thought I was going crazy. I told my husband the bathroom shower is just not as hot as it used to be,” Stephanie said. “He says no, no, no, it’s fine. But then I noticed also the dishwasher wasn’t getting the dishes as clean. But he said no, it’s fine. Then one morning, there’s no hot water anywhere. Zero. Nada. We call in the Brooklyn plumber, they right away diagnose the problem: water heater failure.”
What is Water Heater Failure
When the water comes into your home from the city water supply, it’s cold. To bring the water up to an acceptable temperature for bathing or washing up, it needs to be heated. This is accomplished via your home’s water heater. There are two types of water heaters commonly used in Brooklyn – the small, space saving tankless water heater and larger, more common water heaters with tanks.
Water heaters bring water to the desired temperature through the use of a thermostatically controlled heating element. When the water heater fails to heat the water, this is known as water heater failure. This can happen due to a number of reasons, including failure of the thermostatic controls, problem with the heating element, interruption in the power source, failure of the tank, and more.
What are the signs of water heater failure?
The signs of impending water heater failure include a change in the water temperature – water is either not as hot or much hotter than you would expect it to be; water takes much longer to heat up to an acceptable temperature than normal; any leaks or strange noises coming from the water heater; an absence of hot water.
“I learned that there are times when it is possible to have your water heater repaired,” Stephanie said. “But ours was so far gone we opted for water heater replacement. It was a quick repair for our Brooklyn plumber and now that’s one more thing we don’t have to worry about.”