5 Reasons You’ve Got No Cold Water Coming From The Faucet

1. Cold Water Lines Exposed to Warm Environments

It’s not uncommon for homes to have plumbing running through uninsulated spaces, like attics. As your attic warms up, the cold water sitting in the pipes, just waiting for you to open a faucet, gets warm, too. Depending on just how hot the attic gets, your tap water may seem alarmingly warm coming out of the faucet, especially in the hottest summer months.

If you notice that your tap water is warm in the summer, but cooler in other times of the year, attic plumbing may be to blame. Open the faucet and let it run until the water cools for an immediate solution. In the longer term, it’s going to be important to address the heat in your attic and insulate the plumbing running through it. By cooling your attic off, you’ll cool off the water and also make it easier to cool your home in the hottest time of the year.

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2. Frozen Cold Water Supply Lines

The opposite problem of plumbing in the attic that’s way too hot, is plumbing that’s freezing up because it’s in a very cold space, like a crawl space or an attic in the wintertime. When the weather gets too cold, it’s easy for already water lines to go ahead and freeze completely. If you’re getting little or no cold water and it’s cold outside, this is a likely culprit.

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Frozen pipes are a challenge. You don’t really know how much damage has taken place until after the thaw, and then you may suddenly have a flood on your hands. Fortunately, many frozen pipes will thaw without any severe consequences. If freezing is a problem, try wrapping your plumbing with heating tape or installing pipe insulation to help protect from the cold. In addition, closing crawl space or attic vents can help keep the temperature above freezing.

3. Closed Shut-Off Valves

Although it might seem like a silly thing to ask if the shut-offs are turned off, it’s a really easy mistake to make, especially if you’ve been recently dealing with plumbing issues. Sometimes, older shut-off valves can be a little sticky and hard to turn on or off due to years of simply sitting and doing nothing. If your cold water shut-off valve is stuck in the closed position, you’d only have hot water coming out of the tap.

First, check that little to no water is coming out of the faucet when you turn on just the cold water. If it’s a trickle—or less—get under the sink and look for the shut-off valve. Open the valve slowly, by turning the valve counterclockwise. If that valve is open, check the main shut-off inside your home. This is usually a wheel or lever. Turn it counterclockwise slowly to open it up and release the water into your pipes.

4. Lime Build-Up Plugging Your Faucet

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Lime is what happens when the tap water evaporates and leaves behind mineral deposit, so it makes sense that faucets can be plagued by this when you have particularly hard water. If your faucet has a crusty glaze where the water comes out, your lack of cold water could be due to a mineral plug in either the end of the faucet or the aerator. If you have a sprayer, you can test this by turning the cold water on and using the sprayer to see if cold water comes out.

If the sprayer is working properly, you can eliminate lime build-up by simply removing the aerator and submerging it in a lime-removing cleaner for a few seconds, or using the same cleaner on the part of your faucet where water comes out. Some people swear by placing a bag of vinegar over the end of a faucet and securing it, but this could discolor your faucet, so test on a small, hidden area first.

5. Failure Within the Faucet

Even the best faucets will eventually have a part that gives up the ghost. When cold water is lacking to just one faucet, it’s possible the problem is the faucet itself. If you’ve gone through the simple stuff and have not gotten the cold water flowing, it may be an issue with the faucet’s cartridge or one of the parts within the handle stem assembly that allows water to flow freely.

Repairing either of these items is a more advanced DIY project, so may justify a call to a plumber. Faucet repair kits are available if you’re feeling particularly handy, but you’ll need to have the specifics of your faucet, including the manufacturer and number of handles, to choose the right one. In some cases, it’s simply easier and faster to replace the faucet itself.

Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Kitchens