Plumbers can be expensive. Here's a short checklist that might save you a couple hundred bucks...
Do you have an electric water heater?
1. Check your circuit breaker. Is it tripped? Make sure the breaker is ON.
2. Make sure the thermostats are set to the proper temperature. On most water heaters, there's two of them - one on top, and one below. You'll need to remove the two plates to access (and you might want to turn the breaker OFF while you do this).
3. Try pushing the red RESET button. Turn the water heater back on.
Wait an hour. If you still don't have hot water - or the water heater works for a little while but shuts off again - it could be a problem with the electrodes. Replace both of them and the thermostats.
(If you have SOME hot water - OR, if the hot water just doesn't feel AS HOT as it should - you might have only ONE bad electrode. Replace BOTH anyways and BOTH thermostats).
Do you have a gas water heater?
1. Make sure the gas valve is on. If you have a propane water heater, make sure you have propane. Silly, I know, but it happens all the time.
2. Is the pilot light lit? If not, try relighting. If the pilot doesn't stay lit, it could be the thermocouple.
If the plilot light does stay lit - and you STILL don't have hot water - there may be a problem with the burner or combustion.
If you have a tankless water heater, you should be getting an error code. Either way, call White Mountain Water Heaters to diagnose and repair your water heater TODAY!
928-245-1343
gethotwater@whitemountainwaterheaters.com