Flushing Water Heater
It had been a year already since I installed a new water heater. As I am typing up this document, I am draining the water from the tank. Here’s my flushing process:
- Turn off the electric power
- Shut off the cold water valve that goes into the tank
- Connect the hose at the bottom of the tank
- Open the hot side faucet in the basement bathroom and kitchen sink
- Flip up the relief valve on the tank to release air
- Turn on the valve at the bottom of the tank where the hose is connect it
- Let it drain and wait (do something else like writing this blog post
- Check the expansion tank to make sure the water pressure matched the main water pressure, which is 48 to 50 PSI
- Turn on the cold water valve on and off several times (once the tank is completely drained) to flush out more sediment
- Close the valve and disconnect the hose
- Turn the cold water valve on the tank back on
- Flip the relief valve down once the water reached halfway or higher
- Turn off the sink valves in the basement bathroom and kitchen
- Turn the power back on
It was not a bad process. I will do it every year to make sure the tank is in good shape and the water is clean. If you haven’t tried it yet, check out this video.