How to Flush a Water Heater

If you’ve never flushed your water heater, or haven’t done it in years, you could be in for a nasty surprise—in the form of sediment build-up that can shorten the life of your heater. One sign of excessive sediment buildup is a popping or rumbling sound coming from your water heater. That’s the sound of steam bubbles percolating up through the muck. On a gas water heater, the sediment creates hot spots that can damage the tank and cause premature failure. On an electric water heater, sediment buildup can cause the lower heating element to fail. So learning how to drain a water heater and flushing offers a payback in lower energy bills and extended heater life.

This is what the sediment in your water heater looks like.

Build a Shop Vacuum Adapter

• Glue a 1-½-inch PVC x ¾-inch FIP adapter (A) onto a female PVC trap adapter (B).
  • Note: This allows you to attach your vacuum to ¾-inch pipe. The barbed fitting © connects to ½-inch I.D. vinyl tubing.

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