No Hot Water: What to Check Before You Call
Usually same-day, not tonight
Do this now
- Electric heater: check the breaker panel. Before touching the heater itself, flip its breaker off; on an electric unit, power off comes before everything else.
- Gas heater: check whether the pilot or status light is out. Most gas appliances have safety valves that cut gas automatically when the pilot goes out, which is a safety feature doing its job.
- If you smell gas at any point, stop. Leave the house and use the gas smell steps instead.
- Don't crank the thermostat to compensate. The CPSC urges 120 degrees; hotter settings scald fast, and 150 degree water burns in about two seconds.
- Feeling unwell alongside the appliance acting up, like headache, dizziness or nausea? Treat it as possible carbon monoxide: get everyone outside to fresh air and call 911.
Can you fix it yourself?
Resetting a tripped breaker once, relighting a pilot by the printed instructions on the unit, and checking that the thermostat wasn't bumped are reasonable. A breaker that trips again, a pilot that won't stay lit, or lukewarm-then-cold water (a classic failing heating element or dip tube) is diagnosis work. On gas models the CPSC itself says thermostats vary enough to call your gas company for instructions, which tells you how non-standard these controls are.
When to call a pro
- The breaker trips more than once
- The pilot won't stay lit or the burner short-cycles
- Water smells, is discolored, or the tank rumbles
- The heater is at or past its warranty age and you're weighing repair against replacement
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What to ask the plumber
- Are you licensed in Georgia for plumbing, and for gas work if it's a gas unit?
- Is this element, thermostat or gas valve worth replacing on a heater this age?
- If it becomes a replacement, what will you quote installed, permit included?
- Can you check the venting and combustion while you're there?
Questions we hear
Why is my water suddenly scalding instead of cold?
A failed thermostat can overheat a tank. Atlanta Gas Light's test: run hot water five minutes, hold a thermometer in the stream, and if it reads over 125 degrees, lower the thermostat; if you can't find the controls, call a qualified contractor. Overheating plus a weeping relief valve is a same-day plumber call.
Is it safe to relight the pilot myself?
If the unit's label instructions are legible and the area doesn't smell of gas, following them is normal homeowner territory. Never store or use gasoline near a gas water heater; vapors can reach the burner or pilot and flash. If it won't relight or goes out again, stop and call.
How long should a water heater last?
It varies with water quality and maintenance, and we won't invent a number. A yearly professional inspection of fuel-burning heating systems, water heaters included, is CPSC's standing advice, and it's the easiest way to get an honest read on remaining life.
Sources
Every number and local fact above comes from one of these, read 2026/10. Spot something out of date? Tell us.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Building America: Check Water Heater Temperature
- University of Florida IFAS Extension: Energy Efficient Homes: Water Heaters
- Atlanta Gas Light: Severe Weather Safety
- Atlanta Gas Light: Emergency Information
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Avoiding Tap Water Scalds
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Carbon Monoxide Information Center
- Atlanta Gas Light: Appliance and Equipment Safety
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: New Technology in Gas Water Heaters Can Save Lives (2003)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Inspect, Detect and Protect Against Carbon Monoxide Poisoning