Many people are not aware that there is preventative maintenance involved when it comes to water heaters. In this article I will discuss how to flush a water heater. It is important to do this at least once a year to help extend the life of your water heater. Flushing a water heater will help remove the sediment that builds up in in the bottom of the tanks. It is important to know that water heaters were designed to be housed indoors. Although I have seen a few water heaters mounted outside over the years, and it’s not recommended by any manufacturers. They usually are not covered by warranty if they are installed outdoors. Most water heaters will leak enough to destroy the burner. Some people opt to have a drain pain under the water heater to help catch that water that might rust through or leak. Just be warned that a filled water heater contains a lot of water. A little tray will not be able to contain everything if the whole water heater ruptured. An aftermarket water alarm is a handy device that will alert you if it becomes wet. They can be placed inside the drain pan to help monitor if the water heater were to start leaking.

In order to properly flush a water heater. You will need to turn off the heat source. That means you will need to turn off the gas valve or turn off the breaker if it is electric. Your water heater will ruin if you don’t turn it off before emptying it. Next step is to turn off the water fill valve on the inlet pipe. If you don’t have a shut off valve on the water inlet. Then you will need to locate a water main valve that feeds that area or the entire building. You will need to attach a garden hose to the bottom of the water tank. Make sure your hose has the proper seal to prevent leaks and is adequate in length. Direct the hose to a location that will not damage from rusty water and sediment. Open the valve on top of the hose with a screwdriver or pair of pliers.

Once the water heater has emptied. You can close the hose valve, and open the water inlet valve again. Once the water heater is filled again. Then you can light the pilot light, and let water heater resume it’s normal job. Most gas water heaters are difficult to relight once the pilot light is extinguished. It usually takes a few minutes to relight the to pilot light. If you can’t get the water heater back to normal operation or smell gas then you should stop immediately and contact a professional to assist you. I hope this article has helped explain to you what is needed to flush a water heater. Please contact us with any questions or comments at brooksdollar@gmail.com

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