Maintenance

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:

  1. Turn off the electric power
  2. Shut off the cold water valve that goes into the tank
  3. Connect the hose at the bottom of the tank
  4. Open the hot side faucet in the basement bathroom and kitchen sink
  5. Flip up the relief valve on the tank to release air
  6. Turn on the valve at the bottom of the tank where the hose is connect it
  7. Let it drain and wait (do something else like writing this blog post
  8. Check the expansion tank to make sure the water pressure matched the main water pressure, which is 48 to 50 PSI
  9. Turn on the cold water valve on and off several times (once the tank is completely drained) to flush out more sediment
  10. Close the valve and disconnect the hose
  11. Turn the cold water valve on the tank back on
  12. Flip the relief valve down once the water reached halfway or higher
  13. Turn off the sink valves in the basement bathroom and kitchen
  14. 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.