We all need hot water to wake up to and to relax at night but too much of it can become painful. In fact, if your water heater is operating at a boiling level, then there are high chances that there is something wrong with it. However, this also raises the chance of how do you fix the issue of overheating?
As the first step always revolves around identifying the problem, we have come up with a list of issues that might be possible in case of overheating. We will highly recommend you to not fix the issues by yourself and leave it to the professionals of Avanti Plumbing and Drain Experts as we offer timely, lasting, and affordable solutions.
1. Mineral Build-Up For Hot Water
There are always some areas where a lot of homes get hard water supply only. Unfortunately, hard water contains a massive percentage of dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium. If you are going to leave it untreated, the high mineral content of your hard water will fill your hot water heater with crusty deposits.
This mineral build-up causes the water heater’s element to overheat and eventually the water coming out of faucets will also be way too hot.
You need good water heater maintenance as a solution and yes by that we mean, you may even have to flush your hot water tank once a year, even if you own a tankless water heater. If there is a large amount of mineral build-up, you might even have to empty the tank.
To get rid of hard water problems, try installing a water softener.
2. Faulty Heater Element
Your electric water heater comes equipped with two heating elements; one at the top and the other at the bottom of the unit, which acts as an alternate as well. Gas water heaters, on the other hand, possess a burner on the bottom of the tank.
Generally, as soon as the water heater reaches the preset temperature, the heating elements switch off temporarily. But if one piece is damaged or faulty, the shutoff function stops working. As a result, you get water at boiling temperature coming out from the taps.
You are definitely going to need a professional water heater repair expert to treat or replace this malfunctioning element.
3. Broken Heater Thermostat
The water heater thermostat stands responsible to control the temperature of your water heater’s output. So, it is obvious that a faulty thermostat may also be the reason behind scalding hot water coming out from your taps. It doesn’t matter whether the water heater thermostats are broken or set incorrectly, you need to give them immediate attention.
Before you call a plumber there are certain things that you must check which includes:
- Check the thermostat temperature if it is still at a factory temperature setting of 60 degrees Celsius. You can try doing DIY temperature adjustment by lowering it to 49 degrees C. If the thermostat is already at its lowest setting, you can try turning it down further to cool down the temperature.
- Also, ensure that the thermometer is flush with the outer surface of your hot water tank. If not then try to adjust the position by unscrewing it. The position is essential for accurate temperature readings.
If none of the above-mentioned tricks work, leave it to the professionals of Avanti then.