Six Steps to Flushing Your Hot Water Heater

12/7/2020 (Permalink)

Flushing your hot water tank will take roughly an hour of your time. Doing this once or twice a year will save money on repairs, reduce your energy consumption and keep the water heater running at peak efficiency.

There are six steps to this process.

1. Assemble Your Tools

Flushing a hot water heater requires:

• A garden hose.
• A flathead screwdriver.
• A pump or 5 -gallon bucket if no drain is available.

2. Shut off the Energy Supply

• For gas heaters, shut off the flow of gas to the unit.
• For electric heaters, turn off the appropriate circuit breaker.

3. Prepare the Tank for Draining

Attach the hose to the drain valve of the water heater. The other end should go to a floor or shower drain at or below the level of the valve. If you don’t have a drain, determine a draining method that works for you. Be mindful that the water is very hot and can cause burns, damaging lawns and shrubbery.

4. Drain the Tank

This is a three-step process. The goal here is to drain the tank and flush it with clean water.

• Open the drain valve which allows tank water to flow out and fresh water to flow in.
• After a few minutes, open a hot water faucet in the kitchen.
• Finally, shut off the water. When empty, give the tank one last quick flush.

5. Refill the Tank

Close the drain valve and open the water supply. Once the open water faucet shows a steady flow of water, shut it off.

6. Turn on the Energy Supply

Reverse what you did in step 2 to shut off the power supply. For gas, confirm that the pilot light is lit. 

Failure of Your Water Tank Is Inevitable

When your water heater fails with a flood, call the water damage remediation specialists at SERVPRO of Lakeway / Westlake. They have the skills and the equipment to perform your cleanup and quickly return things to normal.