Gas Water Heater Maintenance Flush

Detailed walk through on how to drain and flush a gas or electric water heater.

Gas water heater maintenance flush.

Both gas and electric water heaters have a safety device called a temperature and pressure relief valve or t p valve for short. 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. Check the pressure valve.

To flush your hot water tank simply turn on the cold water spigot leading into your hot water tank. In the event the tank overpressurizes the relief valve opens and releases the pressure. 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. Connect a hose to the drain valve on the heater and run to a drain.

A sediment trap or softener can help with hard water to a point. Allow the water to run through the water heater and out of the drain valve. As a general rule your tankless water heater should be flushed once per year to maintain efficiency. Before you begin a water heater flush.

When water comes out of the faucet the tank is full. Next rotate the water shut off valve on your heater clockwise to turn off the cold water supply. Open the drain valve and allow the tank to completely drain. Let it run for a few minutes until the water exiting your hose runs clear.

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. Close the drain valve and allow the tank to refill keeping the hot water faucet open. This may take a bit. Then turn on a hot water faucet in one of your sinks or tubs to prevent a vacuum from forming in the lines.

How to drain and flush a water heater. While the water might be running clear and isn t brown you may still have some sediment. 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. If the valve doesn t operate correctly the tank can overpressurize and explode.

Turn back on the cold water into the water heater.