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If there is one thing that you should never take for granted, it’s your home’s water heater. At the turn of a faucet, you’ll have instant hot water running from your plumbing fixtures. Everyone loves a hot shower, but nobody likes an unexpected cold shower. If you conduct regular preventative maintenance, you don’t really need to worry. If you don’t? Well, it may be time to get your water heater flushed. This is an annual service that helps you extend the life of your water heater.
By completely flushing all water from the heater, you’re able to clear out the system. This is an important aspect of regular water heater maintenance, primarily because it removes excess debris and sediment that is in the heater’s tank. The same sediment particles can cause a build-up in the system and this will cause your water heater to malfunction or even break.
While it isn’t impossible to flush your own water heater, there are many different steps in the process. The steps explained below are a very simplified version of what happens during flushing.
There are gas and electric water heaters. Depending on the type of heater you have, you will need to switch it off at the source. Also, ensure that you’ve cut the water supply to the water heater. If you don’t do this right, you can injure yourself. Trust, nobody wants a trip to the hospital for burns or even electrocution.
Locate the drain valve on your water heater, then attach a hose to drain the water. You can let the water run, but make sure you do it in a safe way. After all, you don’t want water pooling at your feet. You can drain it into a bucket, your lawn, or even onto your driveway.
Once you have secured a safe place to drain the water, open the valve and drain it. However, be careful when completing this step; chances are high that the water is hot. Assess how the water flows when it drains. If you see it draining slowly, you have a definite sediment build-up.
With sediment build-up blocking the valve from draining properly, you need to flush it with cold water. The cold water will help dislodge any sediment stuck in the valve. Rinse and repeat this process until all the sediment is out of the tank.
Make sure that the water in the tank is crystal clear. If it is a reddish or brown color you may be dealing with rust, and you don’t want a rusted tank impacted by mineral build-up. Clean it as much as you can until the water in the tank is clean.
This is where you undo the first step. The actions you take depend on the type of water heater you have at home. In short, you will turn off the drain valve and remove the hose. You will then fill the tank with cold water. Once full, ensure that there is no excess air inside. When this step is completed, you can turn it back on at the source.
There are many in-depth tutorials online on how to flush your heater. With that being said, the process can be quite complicated; and dangerous; especially if you aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of plumbing systems. Plumbers in Florida must be licensed and insured, and it’s for a good reason. If you make any mistakes in the process, you will end up bearing the brunt of the cost. Your insurance provider may even reject your claims, especially if the work was not done by a professional plumber.
If cleaning out your heater is a little bit daunting, don’t hesitate to call in the professionals at Art Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electric. With our preventative maintenance service, your water heater will get checked annually and you won’t need to do anything but schedule the appointment. For more information contact us today at 561-391-1048!
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