How do you clean a hot water heater?
Question:I have hard water and sediments are building up in it.
Answers:
First by admitting that no one should need a "hot water heater"! If the water were hot, why would you need a heater for it? It's just a water heater.
Okay, aside from my smart a** remark..
there should be a small spout at the bottom front of it. Connect a hose to it and run it out to your driveway, gutter or some place you don't mind hot water running off to. Turn the valve all the way open. At any time during this process you might want to remember to turn off the main water line as to not drain off "fresh" water entering the unit. I had a big problem with sediment deposits but switched to a water purification system and had the deposits go to a minimum.
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Purge the tank. Turn off the burner and the water that fills it and drain it. Then let it fill and fire it up. This should get rid of a lot of the build up that often rotts the bottom out. You might want to ask a plumber about this or hire one to do it right.
Attach a garden hose to the spigot at the bottom of the heater, and open the valve. Sometimes light tapping on the spigot is necessary to loosen the sediment inside the spigot and keep the water flowing. Be careful, as the water coming out is very hot.
OK, At the bottom of the hot water heater (hwh) it has a valve where you can put your water hose on it. Use it to rinse all the junk inside your hwh. make sure you turn cold and hot water off from the outside so that you only waste the water inside the hwh. Once you empty the hwh you need to turn the water back on and look at the end of the water hose to see the water is clear. If it is clear this mean the hwh is clean. Now you can shut off the hwh valve and refill the hwh and you are done. Good luck.
Sorry but I'm answering your question with a question . . how do you tell if you need to clean a hot water heater? I never have, didn't know I might have to.
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