Water temp issues at faucets and bath/shower

[Philly]

Hello all,

I do not have much plumbing experience but am following my father's footsteps of being a DIY'er.

My sink faucets and shower have always been a bit off since moving in about 6 months ago and seem to be getting worse. They require the hot water to be on full go while originally needing the cold to be on about halfway to get nice warm/tepid water to come out. Over the last two months, we have had to keep dialing back the cold water to keep the temperature comfortable. In other words, with the hot water on full go and cold water on half go, the water is still tap cold. Our shower has one dial for hot and one for cold with a diverter in the middle. We have to turn the hot water one 4 times while the cold is only turned 1/2. What should I look at to fix this? Any help is appreciated as it was hard to put my issue into words to begin with!

 

[Jeff Handy]

Your water heater might need flushing, it may be full of sediment that blocks the flame beneath from properly heating the water.

Lots of other possibilities.

Your faucets might also be clogged with minerals.
Minerals and crud tend to build up at the hot water side.

Do you have a regular water heater, or one that makes hot water on demand?

Do you have a water softener?
Are you on your own well water?
Do you have a whole house filter?

 

[Philly]

It is a regular natural gas water heater hooked up to city water, no softener or house filter.

 

[Jeff Handy]

You say “since moving in 6 months ago”

Do you own your home?
Do you own and control your water heater?
Are you a tenant and a landlord controls your water heater?

 

[Philly]

Own it, and yes I control the heater, but I don't know much about it.

 

[Jeff Handy]

I would try flushing the water heater first.

Put a short garden hose onto the drain valve at the bottom of the heater.

Run about twenty gallons of water out of there, at full open on the valve.

Into a floor drain, laundry sink, etc.

No need to turn the heater off, just run fast water out of the drain hose.

That will flush any junk that has settled to the bottom, which might be blocking the burner from proper water heating.

There could be other things causing the problem, but start with that.

What is the heat setting on the gas valve?

Post a pic of the controls.

 

[TomFOhio]

Could be the faucet cartridge too. What kind of shower faucet do you have?