How To Drain And Flush An Electric Hot Water Heater

On an electric water heater sediment buildup can cause the lower heating element to fail.

How to drain and flush an electric hot water heater.

Open the hot water tap in the bathroom to bleed air. 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. Attach a drain or garden hose to the drain valve on the side of the tank. Open a hot water faucet.

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. This can take up to two hours for some larger water heater tanks. And in both sediment buildup can clog the drain valve. Let the tank cool after turning off the heating elements.

On a gas water heater the sediment creates hot spots that can damage the tank and cause premature failure. Allow the water to run through the water heater and out of the drain valve. The water in your heater and many of the pipes connected to your water heater will be very hot. Before you tackle any service to the water heater turn off all of the electricity to the unit including the breaker.

Find the drain valve on the side of your water heater and attach a hose. So learning how to drain a water heater and flushing offers a payback in lower energy bills and extended heater life. If you don t. Do not turn on the power yet.

Connect a hose to the drain valve on the heater and run to a drain. 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. When do i want to flush my hot water heater. Turn back on the cold water into the water heater.

Extend the life of your water heater with these basic but. 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. 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.

Let the water cool. Open the drain valve and allow the tank to completely drain. How to flush a water heater. Close the water heater drain.

Do this for approximately five 5 or ten 10 minutes. Quickly learn how to drain and flush a hot water heater to remove sediments and prevent corrosion. Open the hot water tap on the bathtub or wash basin and wait for a full stream of water.