How To Drain Your Water Heater

Check Your Water Heater

If you’ve ever checked your Allentown hot water supply and saw that brownish water was coming out, this may not be because of your pipes or drains but a direct cause from the water heater itself.

Sediment will settle in a water heater, and this can easily end up coming out in your water. Too much sediment in a water heater can easily cause rust, which may then be seen in your drinking water.

Fleshing out the water heater as well as draining it can help to clean out the sediment that’s giving you brownish water and also maintains the water heater, giving it longer-lasting life.

Draining The Water Heater

Although draining the water heater may seem extremely difficult, plumbers do it fairly easily, and it first starts with cutting any power to the water heater.

Water heaters are run by gas or electricity, so the gas needs to be turned down or to “pilot” or low, and the electricity should be cut off from the water heater completely.

The cold water valve that is on the hot water heater should be turned off, and then it’s necessary to take a hose of some kind and connect it to the drain valve at the bottom of the heater. Determine where the water will be drained, whether it’s into a bucket or into a drain close by.

Open any hot water faucet in the Allentown home, and then the drain valve on the water heater should be opened as well to drain out the water. Once the water is drained, then the water heater should be partially filled again with water.

Those who are draining the water in order to use it as an emergency supply of water should make sure it’s clean before using it. After partially refilling the water heater with water, allow it to drain again to help clean out additional sediment in the heater. Once the heater is completely cleaned, then close the drain valve, and refill the water heater.

How Often To Drain A Water Heater

It’s highly recommended to have a water heater drained every year, and a plumber can come out to do this job, especially since many are unfamiliar with how to drain a water heater. It’s necessary to keep the water heater clean, especially to keep it lasting for a long time.

Get professional water heater services from Schuler Service Inc. in Allentown, PA by calling (610) 991-7098 today.