It can be incredibly frustrating to turn on a tap or jump into the shower only to realize that the water is remaining cold, or at best, lukewarm. If you're going through this problem, don't know what could be behind it, and all the taps in your home are impacted, then it's likely your water heater is to blame. Here's what could be going on. 

Pilot Light

One of the most common problems with water heaters not producing heat is that the pilot light goes out. The pilot light is responsible for keeping the water heater hot, and without it, the water contained in the tank quickly cools down. This is a more likely problem if you're getting no hot water at all out of the tap or if it started out lukewarm and now is only cold. Once the heated water in the tank was fully used or cooled down within the tank, it'll no longer come through the tap heated.

Heating Element

Another common issue is that the heating element in your tank may have broken down. This is the part of the water heater that's responsible for keeping water hot in electric water heaters. It's like a long rod that is extremely hot that heats the water around it, keeping it a nice temperature throughout the day. When this element fails, like with the pilot light going out, the water will stay warm for a little while and will then completely cool down, yielding cold water when you turn on the tap.

Leak

Another possible issue is that you have a leak coming from your water heater. While some leaks are large and easily noticed, even a minor leak can impact the quality of the hot water coming from the tap.

This is a more likely problem if your water remains lukewarm but never reaches hot temperatures, even with the cold water turned off. The problem here is that the leak is causing the water heater to drain constantly, which means that it has to pull in new cold water and heat it up. Since this process is constant, the water never reaches the proper temperature that it should, and thus it'll be colder when it comes through the tap.

All three of these problems are issues that can easily be addressed with the help of a plumber. While it's possible for homeowners to light a pilot light on their own, it's a good idea to have it inspected to make sure that there's nothing wrong with the mechanism itself. If you need water heater repair, give your plumber a call and find out what's going on with your water heater today.