The water heater is one of the most useful appliances that a household can have. Having consistent access to hot water is almost a necessity nowadays. We use hot water for drinking, bathing, filling up a custom hot tub, and cleaning certain objects, among others. Every home should have a water heater due to the convenience it provides.
Despite its importance, water heaters are often the forgotten appliances in a home. Since they’re normally placed out of the residents’ sight, they tend to forget that they have them. Many people take water heaters for granted and act as if the hot water was there all along. They only remember to check up on the water heater once they start having issues accessing hot water.
Like most appliances, a water heater needs to be maintained now and then to make sure it continues to function as intended. If you do not take good care of your water heater, it will start to work less efficiently as time goes by, until the point that it can actually cause harm to your house and your finances. To avoid that situation, it’s best to perform maintenance on your water heater at least once every six months.
How Do I Perform Maintenance on my Water Heater?
There are two major tasks involved in water heater maintenance: draining and flushing. The difference between these tasks lies in the water supply. If your water supply is turned off, then it’s time for you to drain the water heater. Inversely, if your water supply is turned on, it means it’s time to flush the water out.
When you drain your water heater tank, your main goal is to empty the tank. On the other hand, the main objective of flushing is to replace the tank with clean water so that the water heater can function better. If stuck in the tank for a considerable time, Dirty water will start to have sediment buildup at the bottom of the tank, which will cause the heater to perform less optimally until it breaks down completely.
When and How Should You Drain the Tank?
Homeowners usually drain their water heater tanks once a year, and that’s fine. Professional plumbers would prefer that you drain and flush your tank once every six months, though.
It’s a common mistake to flush first before draining the water heater tanks. Any licensed plumber will advise you to the opposite, which is to drain the tank first before flushing.
The first thing you need to do when draining the tank is to turn off your water supply. If you try to drain the tank while water is still running through your system, it can cause your heater’s heating elements to burn out, effectively ruining it.
Once the tank has been drained out, you need to let the water heater cool off for a period. Most homeowners do their draining at night so that everyone in the house can better adjust to the water system being turned off while giving the water heater an overnight rest.
In the morning, connect a hose to the drain’s valve and turn the wheel until the valve opens up. This will allow all the dirty water to be drained away from your house. Make sure to leave the faucet on as you empty the dirty water from the system, as the running water will help cool down the drained water’s temperature. It also helps to speed up the draining because the running water helps push out the dirty water.
How Do You Flush Out the Water Heater?
Once you have successfully drained your tank, it’s time to flush it out. Make sure to turn your water supply back on before flushing.
During the flushing process, any dirty water in the tank gets flushed out together with all the sedimentary buildup and unwanted particles in the water. Check the tank as it flushes to ensure no dirt is left. Clean water will then begin to refill the tank.
Remember that sediment can stick to the bottom of the tank, dirtying up the clean water that starts to refill it. Sometimes, it’s normal to have to flush three to five times until your water is clean enough to use. When you’re already satisfied with how clean the tank’s water is, close the valve you used to drain the tank earlier and remove the hose.
That’s it; you’ve officially performed maintenance on your water heater.
Maintaining your water heater system can take a lot of time, but it only needs a little effort to do so. Sparing a few of your hours to make sure that your water heater stays functional and working properly can help maximize its lifespan.
Meta title: Water Heater Maintenance: Flushing and Draining
Meta desc: A lot of homeowners have no idea how to take care of their water heater. Here are a few pointers on keeping your water heater well-maintained.
