Your boiler may be the cause if your radiators warm up but the water from your faucets remains cold.

Or you may be inadvertently causing the snafu. First, look at how much hot water you already are using to wash dishes or clothes for showers. Heavy use can keep the boiler from meeting your demand.

But if this isn’t the case, the boiler needs examination.

The first area to check: the coils. Dirty coils will limit the boiler’s ability to heat water -- just as dirty coils on an air conditioner hurt the system’s ability to deliver cool air.

Parts’ failure

Other causes may be more complicated to solve. They could involve a defective “aquastat” control or a malfunctioning valve.

• The aquastat control regulates water temperature inside the boiler, but if it goes bad the boiler may stop delivering hot water.

•  Valves are needed to get the water to the desired temperature. They can break, however, and doom you to a life of cold showers unless you get it fixed.

Premier techs install and service boilers in homes and businesses.