How to Drain a Water Heater
Overtime, water heaters can accumulate sludge and other mineral deposits that settle from the water. This affects the heater’s performance. To Solve this problem, you should make it a habit to flush out or drain your water heater at least once a year..Here’s how to do it.
What You’ll Need:
Water heater
Adjustable wrench
Bucket
Garden hose
Procedure:
Know what type of electric heater model you have. Is it gas-operated or electric? This is because you need to shut off the power source of your water heater, but keep the water supply on. If it’s electric, find the fuses or circuit breaker and turn them off at the main panel. If you have a non-electric water heater, such as a propane or a natural gas heater, find out what is the lowest temperature setting, then turn the thermostat on that setting. If you’re going to use the water for other purposes, turn the heat off ahead and allow the water to cool before you drain it.
Find the drain cock at the bottom of the heater. It will look like a typical hose bib or a round dial with a threaded hole in the middle. It might also be hidden under a removable cover. Once you find it, attach a garden hose to it.
Extend your garden hose, to a place at home where the water can exit the heater safely. A drain or a driveway would work great. You can even use the water for watering plants (when it’s cool, of course).
Open your drain cock, then let the water exit the heater. Be careful while doing this, because an old heaters with a plastic drain cock might be difficult to open and might break if you force it. Also, the water is under the normal household pressure, not to mention hot, so be careful not to burn yourself.
Flush the water for five minutes. If water is still flushing out, fill a bucket with water.
Wait for the water in thew bucket to become still, then observe if the water is clear or if there are sand-like material settling to the bottom. If there is no sand-like material, you can proceed. If you see sand and water discoloration, repeat the previous step, until you get clear water.
Close the drain cock, then take out the garden hose
Return the gas control to its previous setting or turn on the electricity. Wait for the water to heat up again. You’ll now get clean water and a reliable water heater!
Clean and hot water is something everyone wants. By draining a water heater, you’ll be assured to get this anytime you want.