If you've still got hot water elsewhere and its the water flow in the tap that's stopped, could it be the washer? That's a reasonably quick fix, if you google online there should be pics of your tap (hey, I thought US folks called them faucets?) and how to change a washer, think it varies from type to type..
I hadn't thought of that because when I've seen washers go it's meant not being able to turn off the water, rather than not being able to get any ... but maybe the washer crumbled and the bits fell where they're blocking the flow? I dunno, but having something to take a screwdriver to helps alleviate the feeling of helplessness a bit (at least until I take it apart and still can't tell what's wrong, but here's hoping I've better luck than that). Something to do once I've warmed up again -- I'm under the blankets with the cat perched atop me to facilitate that getting-warm-again thing.
"hey, I thought US folks called them faucets?"
I grew up hearing both interchangeably. I'm not sure whether that's standard for central Maryland, or reflects time my mother spent in England when she was growing up (she had -- maybe still has but I find it harder to notice -- a faint English accent that some of my friends noticed but I used to only hear on the phone).
I think that a stopcock stuck in the side of a barrel is always called a tap here (as is the pump/valve/hose assembly stuck in the top of a metal keg, of course), but with regard to the household plumbing fixture, I think I'm slightly more likely to hear 'faucet' than 'tap' in phrases with fewer words ("turn off the faucet") and it tilts somewhat more strongly the other direction when there are modifiers attached ("the hot water tap"). I think there's also a tenuous association of 'tap' with the control knob and 'faucet' (also 'spigot') with the part the water finally comes out of, but I'll have to listen more carefully to how those around me speak to be sure that's more than just my own idiolect.
Oh good, a language-geeking distraction. Needed that.
I know here at the Manse we have lost hot water to several taps, and I don't know why. It's frustrating, so I sympathize. I doubt it is the washer, in our case, but hell, I'll try anything once. It would beat replacing the entire pipe, which is what I fear may be the solution (a lot of the pipes are old and filled with mineral residue).
I could see the washer being the problem. I agree that washer failure usually causes a drip, but they can break up and plug things up too.
It's also possible that some scale broke loose from the inside of the pipe and lodged in the valve. Turning on the water (just a little!) while the faucet is disassembled might blow it clean.
(no subject)
(no subject)
I hadn't thought of that because when I've seen washers go it's meant not being able to turn off the water, rather than not being able to get any ... but maybe the washer crumbled and the bits fell where they're blocking the flow? I dunno, but having something to take a screwdriver to helps alleviate the feeling of helplessness a bit (at least until I take it apart and still can't tell what's wrong, but here's hoping I've better luck than that). Something to do once I've warmed up again -- I'm under the blankets with the cat perched atop me to facilitate that getting-warm-again thing.
"hey, I thought US folks called them faucets?"
I grew up hearing both interchangeably. I'm not sure whether that's standard for central Maryland, or reflects time my mother spent in England when she was growing up (she had -- maybe still has but I find it harder to notice -- a faint English accent that some of my friends noticed but I used to only hear on the phone).
I think that a stopcock stuck in the side of a barrel is always called a tap here (as is the pump/valve/hose assembly stuck in the top of a metal keg, of course), but with regard to the household plumbing fixture, I think I'm slightly more likely to hear 'faucet' than 'tap' in phrases with fewer words ("turn off the faucet") and it tilts somewhat more strongly the other direction when there are modifiers attached ("the hot water tap"). I think there's also a tenuous association of 'tap' with the control knob and 'faucet' (also 'spigot') with the part the water finally comes out of, but I'll have to listen more carefully to how those around me speak to be sure that's more than just my own idiolect.
Oh good, a language-geeking distraction. Needed that.
(no subject)
(no subject)
It's also possible that some scale broke loose from the inside of the pipe and lodged in the valve. Turning on the water (just a little!) while the faucet is disassembled might blow it clean.