How To Drain And Flush An Electric Hot Water Heater

Find the drain valve on the side of your water heater and attach a hose.

How to drain and flush an electric hot water heater.

And in both sediment buildup can clog the drain valve. On a gas water heater the sediment creates hot spots that can damage the tank and cause premature failure. Open a hot water faucet. When do i want to flush my hot water heater.

Depending on your water source and the mineral content both gas and electric water heaters should be flushed of sediment every one to two years to ensure optimal performance. This can take up to two hours for some larger water heater tanks. Open the hot water tap on the bathtub or wash basin and wait for a full stream of water. Let the water cool.

Open the hot water tap in the bathroom to bleed air. Drain and flush it at least once a year fall is a good time and you can extend the length of your water heater s useful life to avoid the cost of replacement. Open the drain valve and allow the tank to completely drain. Quickly learn how to drain and flush a hot water heater to remove sediments and prevent corrosion.

Turn off the cold water supply and allow the heater to cool this may take a couple of hours. With electric heaters scaling can burn out the lower heating element. Close the water heater drain. Connect a hose to the drain valve on the heater and run to a drain.

So learning how to drain a water heater and flushing offers a payback in lower energy bills and extended heater life. Dave moody a plumbing pro with service experts suggests you may need to drain your water heater more frequently if your water source is a well or if your municipal. The water in your heater and many of the pipes connected to your water heater will be very hot. Locate the water heater s drain valve typically found near the bottom of the tank.

If you turn the power on without filling the heating element can be damaged. Attach a drain or garden hose to the drain valve on the side of the tank. Do this for approximately five 5 or ten 10 minutes. Don t drain scalding hot water.

Allow the water to run through the water heater and out of the drain valve. Extend the life of your water heater with these basic but. Let the tank cool after turning off the heating elements. Most homeowners should flush their water heaters every six months or so but if you have extremely hard water you may want to do it more often.

If you don t. Before you tackle any service to the water heater turn off all of the electricity to the unit including the breaker. Turn back on the cold water into the water heater.