Can You Take A Bath If The Water Heater Is Broken? (6 Solutions!)

There are a bunch of causes that could render your water heater dysfunctional in a split of a second.

Hurricanes, power outage, natural aging of the heater…you name them. If the heater gets out of service, you will have to contend with cold baths until it is repaired.

Most members of the family, however, like children, for example, may not adapt quickly like everyone else. That’s why you may need to find an alternative immediately until the heater gets repaired or replaced.

Can You Take A Bath If The Water Heater Is Broken?

Yes, you can keep having a warm bath by utilizing other heating options already available at home. Why not boil water over your stove, transfer it in a pail, and bend somewhere in the bathroom to bath? It may sound desperate and old school but it can go a long way to offer a practical solution in an emergency situation.

Here Are SIX Workarounds…..

Let’s take a glance at a few ways of having a warm bath without this essential home appliance.

1. Oven or Cooktop or Microwave – Keep Swimming in Your Tub with Oven-heated Water

Just because the water heater is broken doesn’t mean you can’t soak in a hot bathtub (or hot tub in the backyard).

Use your microwave or cooktop or range to heat some water plenty enough to fill your tub.

There isn’t much to say about this, just a 5-step procedure of how to get started:

Step One

Turn on the faucet and fill the tub with water halfway.

Step Two

  • Now take the biggest cooking pot you could find in your kitchen and fill it with cold water.
  • Put it on your stove, turn it on, and let your water boil.
  • Alternatively, you can use the microwave by placing a microwave-safe container full of water and setting the correct temperature.
  • While water may not really need to hit the boiling point, the hotter it gets the better.

Step Three

Grab your pot full of water (with care) using a dry potholder or piece of old cloth so that you don’t burn your hands.

Step Four

  • Proceed to your bathroom and empty the pot in your bathtub.
  • Depending on the size of the tub, you may need to let in more cold water to get a lukewarm mix or boil another potful of cold water just to get the right temperature.

Step Five

Dip your index finger in the tub – if the temperature is right, get in there and have a soak. No heater worries for today!

There is something you may worry about through – the cumulative energy cost of heating cold water on the oven or microwave every day.

If your oven is already energy-efficient, you can easily slash off a few more dollars from your energy bills by covering the pot during heating.

Also, consider heating all the water you need at once instead of making a second trip to the oven.

Don’t put aluminum foils in the oven’s cavity while boiling your water.

2. Pressure Cooker – Boils Water Faster with Less Energy

If you are still nervous about the toll your oven or microwave takes on your gas or electricity bills, the best alternative would be the pressure cooker.

Trying to boil water in high altitude areas can take a long time and consume an unreasonably high amount of energy.

The pressure cooker, however, cuts the boiling time by about a half regardless of your location.


The fact that the pressure cooker will spend less time on the oven means less energy will be used.

So, fill your largest pressure cooker to about 2/3 level, put it in the oven, and let your water boil before taking it to the bathroom.

3. Sun – Steam Up Your Bathing Water with Bare Sun

Solar energy can be used to heat water during the daytime and make you forget about your broken water heater for some time.

It is the greenest and cheapest way of obtaining hot water because you won’t pay for it and entails zero emissions.

The main drawback of solar-heated water is that you must use it shortly after sunset unless you have proper storage containers capable of keeping it hot for more hours. Also, it is a reserve for those living in hot and sunny areas.

The first approach you would think about is to install a solar water heater on the roof of your home. Solar heaters would be fantastic, but the cost of installing one can be high.

The average cost of acquiring one heater is in the region of $3,500 – if you add the cost of labor, this amount can get past $2,000. Evidently, that’s not the route to take at this moment.

Then there is the traditional method that entails a basin full of water left under the sun the entire day. You can opt for this even though the amount of the produced water may not be enough to cater for a family in a short time.

Amazon has one here.

4. Buy the Solar Kettle

Solar kettles have been around for a long time and offer a more practical way of harnessing solar energy to heat water without using a solar water heater.

Most of the solar kettles you will find in the store cost between $80 and $200 – that’s an affordable range enough to stop you worrying about the broken heater.

A typical solar kettle comes as a cylinder with a central body that can open into two concaves coated with highly reflective material.

The reflective material serves to reflect as much sunlight as possible to a central tube filled with water.

Amazon has one.

5. Firewood – Utilize Some of Your Fireplace Logs

Firewood-powered fireplaces are still common. If you often use one to heat your family room during the winter, there is a likelihood you have a pile of firewood somewhere in the backyard waiting for the season to set in.

If that’s the case, there is no good reason why you would bath cold water with such excellent energy resources lying idle in your home.

Better yet, living close to a forest gives you access to a steady supply of dried logs that you can use for a long time as you figure out how to replace your water heater.

You can create a heating spot outside your home, preferably three simple stones with few logs in the middle. Get yourself a sizable pot and fill it with cold and boil your water over the fire.

If you own a wood stove, you could also utilize that to heat up some cold water.

6. Cold Water – Cold Showers Are Healthy by the Way

If you live in cold areas away from ample sun, you don’t want to waste your logs on bathing water, and you’re concerned with the implications of oven-heated water on your gas or electricity bills, the next best thing you can do is take a cold shower.

In fact, this can be the first idea that may come to your mind before even thinking about the sun or regular firewood.

Cold showers are healthy by the way, especially for men. Studies continue to show that cold showers can improve your testosterone level considerably than any known diet.

If you have been sweating the entire day, having a cold shower is the right thing to do to decrease the effects of humidity and heat on your body. It can also be good for your nervous system as well in the long run.

In a nutshell

While a broken heater may throw your household in despair for lack of warm bathing water in the morning, there are several ways of getting a decent bath without fretting.

  • You can use your microwave or stove to heat the water enough to fill your tub. However, it is important to consider the efficiency of the oven and the long-term effect of this remedy on your energy bills. consider heating all the water you need at once instead of taking a second turn to the oven. Don’t put aluminum foils in the oven’s cavity while boiling the water.
  • If you are nervous about the toll your oven or microwave will take on your gas or electricity, the best alternative would be the pressure cooker. This option is faster than using the oven.
  • If you live in sunny regions you can heat water during the day using solar kettles and forget about your broken water heater for some time. It is the most affordable method of obtaining hot water because you won’t pay for it and entails zero-emission.
  • If you have a few extra logs at home for the fireplace, you can use them instead of the oven or hard-to-harness sun. living close to a forest gives you access to a steady supply of dried logs that you can use for a long time as you figure out how to replace your water heater. You can create a boiling spot outside your home, preferably three simple stones with few logs in the middle.
  • If none of the above would have helped, just take a cold shower. Not only are cold showers good for men, Studies continue to show that cold showers can improve your testosterone level considerably than any known diet. If you have been sweating the entire day, having a cold shower is the right thing to do to decrease the effects of humidity and heat on your body.