Taking hot showers in your home from time to time is very relaxing and comforting. However, when the water is too hot, it will be a different experience. This is because you can easily burn your skin within seconds. Besides, you may end up wasting money on high energy bills. If the water is hotter than usual, your hot water system is faulty. Therefore, to prevent the detrimental outcomes that may come with such problems, here are a few ways to troubleshoot an overheating electric water heater.

Check Your Temperature Setting

The first thing you need to check when water from your water heating system is too high is the temperature settings. Usually, your water heater should operate at a normal or standard temperature, which may be indicated on the unit. You can even ask for the normal operating temperature when installing the hot water system. Therefore, just in case the temperature dial indicator was adjusted up without your knowledge, adjust it back to the normal operating temperatures.

Inspect Your Heating Elements

Usually, water, especially hard water, contains some dissolved minerals that aren't removed or eliminated in the purification process of the water. As the water flows through your hot water tank and is heated by the heating elements, these minerals may start forming sediment clusters inside the tank. While some of the sediments sink to the bottom of your tank, some will settle around the lower and upper heating elements, coating them. This means your water heating elements will have to work even harder to heat up the water, leading to overheating problems. For this reason, inspect your water heating elements for any coatings and clean out the sediments. This should solve your problem. However, to prevent a recurrence of this problem, make sure you flush your water heater tank and replace the heating elements regularly.

Evaluate The Condition of the Thermostat

A damaged or poorly functioning thermostat can also lead to water heater overheating problems. The on and off cycle of your water heating elements is usually controlled by the thermostat with the help of a reset button. If this button is damaged or fails, the heating elements will continue drawing power and heating the water. To solve this issue, you can simply replace the reset button. However, for some types of thermostats, you may have to replace the entire unit.

Following the above tips will help you keep your hot water system safe for use by everyone in your household.