Imagine you wake up in the morning, walk to the toilet to brush your teeth, and wash your face. You turn the tap; no water comes out of the faucet. This hasn’t happened to you before, so you find this situation very strange. Before you can get the water running again, you need to figure out what caused it to stop. You paid your electricity bill so that you can rule out the possibility of the water supply company cutting you off. So why has the water stopped? Here are some instructions that you can follow to determine why water isn’t coming out of your tap.
Check Another Faucet, Including Bathroom Faucets
Sometimes faucets get clogged, broken or dislodged, and this can block the flow of water. To check if the problem is with your faucet, try other faucets, like bathroom faucets. Check to see if the water is coming out of them. If they are working fine, it means that the problem is in the faucet. You might have to replace the faucet, but this isn’t a significant problem as the plumber can quickly get it done.
Check Cold Water
If you can’t get hot water from the tap, but the cold water is coming fine, your water heater might be malfunctioning. A water heater can malfunction due to different reasons – sediment may have build up inside the heater, or it simply may be unplugged. Sometimes, you can’t get hot water because the heater is leaking. Flush the water heater and give it some time to heat up. If this doesn’t work, call a plumber and let them have a look. They will likely be able to determine the cause of the problem and fix it.
Check Water Main
If water isn’t coming out of any faucet in your home, check if your water main is open. If the main valve is closed, water won’t flow through the mainline, and thus no water will come out of any of the faucets. Open the main valve all the way. This might fix the problem if the valve was closed.
Ask Your Neighbors and Contact Your Water Supply Company
If no water is coming from all the taps in your house, you should ask your neighbors to see if they are experiencing the same problem. If your neighbors can’t get any water either, then the supply company may have turned off the water to your area for maintenance work. Call your supply company and ask them if they turned off the water.
Replace the Tap Washer
Sometimes tap gets blocked, and this prevents the water from coming out of the faucet. You can quickly resolve this issue by removing the tap and replacing the washer. You must isolate the water supply to your tap before attempting to fix it. If you don’t know how to replace the tap washer, call a plumber to do the job for you.
Check for Leaks
Leaks in the pipe can steal pressure, especially when the pipe is leaking near the mainline. If water doesn’t come off your faucet despite following all the steps discussed above, look for leaks. Follow the water supply lines in your home. Look for leaking, dripping and signs of rupture. A big dent or leak in your plumbing pipe can keep water from getting to your faucet. If you find a leak or dent in your plumbing lines, call a plumber to have it fixed.
Check for Frozen Pipes
A frozen pipe can often prevent water from flowing through one faucet or several faucets in your home. If no water is coming from a particular faucet, check to see if the pipe leading to the faucet is frozen. If you find a frozen pipe, it means that it was causing the problem. So you will have to unfreeze the pipe, and the water will start flowing from the faucet again. You can use a hairdryer or heat gun to unfreeze the plumbing pipe.
Check for Clogs
If the pipe isn’t leaking from anywhere and the water still isn’t coming out of your faucet, then the reason for the problem might be clogged pipes. Sediment buildup can restrict the flow of water through your pipes. Eventually, sediment buildup causes the same pressure and flow problems that leaks or dents usually do. If your plumbing pipes are outdated, lime and heavy metal deposits or corrosion and rust may have clogged them.
If your pipes are clogged, very little or no water will flow out of your faucets. You should call a professional plumber to inspect your plumbing lines for clogs. They can use video inspection to identify clogs and clear the junk out of your plumbing pipes through hydro jetting.
Final Thoughts
You don’t have to panic when no water comes out of your faucet. As you can see, water can get blocked due to a variety of reasons. You have to find the source of the problem and fix it, and the water will again start flowing from your faucets. If you are struggling to identify the cause of the problem despite following our advice, call Rowin Plumbing. Our professional plumber will diagnose the issue and fix it.