How Do You Drain a Hot Water Heater?

March 2, 2022

Water heaters are often neglected because they can run for decades without much attention. As long as people are getting hot water, no one thinks about water heaters. Although a water heater doesn’t require much care, draining the unit regularly can help prolong the life of your water heater and prevent costly repair needs. That’s the reason plumbers in Modesto recommend draining the unit every 6 months or annually. If you don’t drain your water heater regularly, it can impact the efficiency of your unit and can cause the water to heat slowly.

Why Sediment Builup Is Bad Your Water Heater?

The reason which makes draining water heater regularly an important maintenance task is sediment builup. Non-filtered water carries minerals and other particles when it comes to your plumbing pipes. These minerals and deposits in the water end up accumulating on the bottom of the water heater’s tank. This builup needs to be removed on regular basis by draining your water heater

This buildup also forces the water heater to work harder, leading to more energy consumption. The sediment builup can also damage the heating elements in your water heater. This leads to water heater repair in Modesto and costs you significant money.

How to Drain a Water Heater

Thankfully, draining the water heater unit is not a difficult task. Just follow the right steps and maintain your water heater for maximum efficiency.

Follow These Steps to Drain Your Water Heater

Turn off the main water shut-off valve to stop all the water flowing into your home’s plumbing. Also, shut off the cold water inlet valve that supplies cold water to the water heater.
Shut off the power supply to the water heater. Make sure you do it 4-5 hours before starting draining the water heater tank. This is required to let the hot water cool down before you drain it. Draining scalding hot water may result in injury. If you have a gas-powered water heater, set the thermostat settings to “pilot” mode. You are even suggested turning off the gas supply to the water heater.
Connect the hose to the drain valve found at the bottom of the water heater. Check the bottom of the water heater, the drain valve is located there. Take the other end of the hose and keep it into the bathroom or floor drain.
Turn on the hot water faucet. It will help release the pressure builup inside and make the tank drain faster.
Open the pressure relief valve and open the drain valve.
Allow the water to drain into the floor drain or empty bucket if you’re not using the drain.
Once the water heater tank is emptied, turn on the water supply valve to let the freshwater move into the tank and drain out from the drain valve until it gets clear.
Turn off the drain valve and pressure relief valve to refill the tank. Don’t forget to turn off the faucet you ran while draining the tank.

If you feel you can’t do this, you can always hire professional plumbing and drain cleaning Modesto service for draining your water heater.

Description: Water heaters can last a long time with regular draining of the unit. But, how do you drain a water heater? It’s simple and can be done by you.