My hot water is not hot enough

My hot water is not hot enough. We get this type of call a lot in the winter months. Most of the time there is nothing wrong with the hot water heater. Water heaters are limited as to how much and how fast they can raise the temperature of the incoming water based on flow rate and the temperature of the incoming water. In the winter months the incoming water temperature can be 20 to 30 degrees cooler causing the water heater to run longer to achieve the same temperature that it would in the summer months. Turning the thermostat up on a gas hot water hater is quite simple but should be done in small increments so as not to get the water too hot. We don’t however recommend that a homeowner adjust the temperature on electric hot water heaters themselves because most electric water heater thermostats are located inside a cover plate and are in close proximity to bare electrical terminals and should only be adjusted by a trained professional. If you have a tankless water heater you should have a digital controller that is used to turn the temperature up.