Flush the Water Heater: A Simple Process That Will Keep It Going
Nowadays, it seems like the price of everything keeps going up. Taking steps to maintain your water heater in your Broken Arrow area home can help you prolong its life and ensure it runs at peak performance, so that you won't have to face a costly replacement anytime soon. You can flush the water heater as one of the steps during your annual maintenance. This should be done to prevent sediment build-up and maintain optimal operation.Flushing the water heater can be done by following these steps:
Turn off the water supply and shut off power for electrical units.
Attach a hose to the drain valve (you'll find this located at the bottom of the water heater) and place the end of the hose in an appropriate place for draining water.
Once you have everything in place open the drain valve and the pressure valve at the top; this will allow water to drain. If the water is clear you can continue. If sediment is still present you may need to allow water back into the water heater and drain again.
Once finished draining, close the drain and pressure valves, and turn the water supply back on.
Open a hot water tap to remove air.
Once the water heater is filled turn on power and set to desired temperature.
Shut off hot tap that you turned on.
Although you can flush the water heater yourself, you should consider having a professional technician do it. A professional can help you determine how often your water heater should be flushed out and can check for other issues and problems while he or she is performing routine maintenance on your water heater. One important task a maintenance technician will perform is to check the sacrificial anode rod, which protects the tank from corrosion. If it has deteriorated or is coated with calcium it should be replaced.For more information about water heater maintenance or other home comfort issues, please contact Air Assurance. We have been providing the Greater Tulsa Metropolitan Area with great service in heating, air conditioning and plumbing since 1985.Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Image courtesy of Shutterstock