Gas Water Heater Maintenance Flush

Connect a hose to the drain valve on the heater and run to a drain.

Gas water heater maintenance flush.

If the valve doesn t operate correctly the tank can overpressurize and explode. Open the drain valve and allow the tank to completely drain. Close the drain valve and allow the tank to refill keeping the hot water faucet open. Detailed walk through on how to drain and flush a gas or electric water heater.

Turn back on the cold water into the water heater. Let it run for a few minutes until the water exiting your hose runs clear. Then turn on a hot water faucet in one of your sinks or tubs to prevent a vacuum from forming in the lines. As a general rule your tankless water heater should be flushed once per year to maintain efficiency.

However the hardness of your water plays a part in this and you may find it better to flush two to three times per year if your home s water is especially poor quality. Both gas and electric water heaters have a safety device called a temperature and pressure relief valve or t p valve for short. Shut off the gas or electricity to the water heater and open a hot water faucet and let it run full blast for about 10 minutes to reduce the water temperature in the tank. Allow the water to run through the water heater and out of the drain valve.

Then shut off the cold water valve at the top of the tank and attach a garden hose to the existing drain valve and route it to a floor drain. To flush a water heater start by turning off the heater s power source using the breaker or thermostat. Before you begin a water heater flush. Next rotate the water shut off valve on your heater clockwise to turn off the cold water supply.

This may take a bit. In the event the tank overpressurizes the relief valve opens and releases the pressure. When water comes out of the faucet the tank is full. How to drain and flush a water heater.

I show how i flush my water heater fro. Flushing your hot water heater could be necessary as often as every few months depending on the mineral content of your local water supply. Do this for approximately five 5 or ten 10 minutes. Most homeowners should flush their water heaters every six months or so but if you have extremely hard water you may want to do it more often.

Check the pressure valve.