Why Should You Perform A Water Heater Flush Once A Year?

Why perform a water heater flush?

If you flush your water heater, you will be helping to prevent and control the buildup of mineral deposits. Your water will also operate more efficiently and this usually extend the life of the heater.


How do I flush my water heater?

Flushing water heaters is one of the easiest plumbing preventive maintenance performed in your home, however, you do need to be careful when doing it, otherwise, something as simple as water heater flush a can became a nightmare to anyone who lacks of experience in doing so.

Before you flush your water heater, do the followings:

1 – Check the water heater ball valve to make sure that is not in bad shape. If the valve is rusted, cracked, corroded or has signs of leakage, you must judge whether you want to touch it or not.

2 – Check the water heater faucet for the same purpose as above mentioned.

3 – You must have a floor drain close by the water heater or nearby, if not, you must have a place where you can drain the water to.

4 – If there is a floor drain available make sure that drain is operable before you dump any water in it. Make sure that the drain is in good shape and is not clogged; otherwise, you could cause a flood that could easily be avoided.

Once you have completed your homework and everything is checked out alright, it is time to perform the water heater flush.

1 – Turn off the electricity to the water heater or turn the gas switches to pilot.

2 – Shut off the cold water inlet to the water heater (ball valve) right above the heater.

3 – You must have a garden hose in good shape and that’s long enough to reach the drain where you will be draining the water. Connect the hose to the tank’s drain valve.

4 – Once the hose is connected to the water heater, you must open a couple faucets to allow the air to circulate through the water heater and then to push the water down.

5 – If the faucets are too far, you can also open the TP Valve in the water heater itself, this will speed up the drainage process; however, make sure that you have a pan under the TP valve drain pipe because it might leak a little bit in the beginning of the process.

6 – Finally, open the faucet in the water heater and let the drainage begin, if the water heater gets clogged, the problem is normally in the faucet, just, open and close the faucet a few times, this might work.

7 – Once the drainage has been completed. Close the tank faucet, disconnect the hose from the faucet and close the pressure relief valve.

8 – Open all you’re the faucets in the house on the hot side and turn on the cold water inlet to the water heater tank.

9 – Close all the faucets once the air has been removed from your piping system and the water starts flowing naturally. After all the faucets have been closed, turn on the electricity to the water heater or turn the gas switch to “run”.

Following these simple maintenance procedures once a year will keep your water heater operating safely and efficiently for many years to come.

After reading this step by step water heater flush guideline and you still feel unsure in doing it yourself, you might consider calling a local plumbing company to do it for you, however, have in mind that it will cost you a little bit.


How much would cost me to have it flush by a professional?

The average cost to perform a water heater flush is around $190 and, it does not include any problem that may incur during the process. It will all depend of the overall condition of your water heater.

Warning: Always wear gloves, goggles and other protective clothing while performing maintenance on your water heater.

Well, I hope this article was helpful to all of you. If you have questions or comments, please, send me an email.

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