You'll probably know if you need water heater repairs pretty quickly. How? Because you don’t have any hot water. You’re either going to have a very cold shower, or you’re going to have another member of the household loudly telling you about theirs!

So you’ll need a solution that’s just as quick. But what do you do?

Identify the heater

First things first. You’re going to need to know the type of system you have. Depending on which one of these you have, you might need different tradesperson, and will likely be facing different causes for the problem.

A general rule of thumb is if there’s a flue or chimney, it’s probably gas, because they are burning fuel and need a way to vent the fumes.

Sometimes new plumbing upgrades such as a new showerhead means you use more hot water

Identify the problem

You can also do some work to establish what kind of general problem you’re facing. Have you recently had any new plumbing installed – like a new showerhead that’s got a significant power upgrade, or a big new bathtub?

If the answer to that is yes, there’s a possibility the amount of water you’re using is the issue. The upgrade to your bathroom means you’re using more hot water than before, and it is running out at a greater pace.

Leave it for a while, and see if the hot water returns. If it does, well then you’ll know that it simply ran out. At that point you can either make efforts to conserve hot water, being more efficient in how and when you use it. Or you’ll have to consider upgrading your system.

If the water is still not heating, or you haven’t changed your usage at all, you should have a thorough check for leaks. These can potentially be very subtle, so check the area around the pipes for any sign of damp at all. You’ll save your tradesperson a lot of time if you can find a leak before contacting them, and will get a more accurate quote for the cost.

Call in a tradesperson

Finally, the best thing to do is to contact a tradesperson, and get professional help. But what kind of tradesperson do you need? A plumber or a heating engineer?

A large amount of heating engineers are also experienced plumbers capable of working with a variety of issues. As always, if you’re struggling to find one, Local Heroes is here to help. We can find qualified heating engineers and plumbers in your area, and we’ll have personally checked their credentials.

So all you need to do is contact us, and countdown to that hot bath.