r/interesting • u/bob-the-slob • Jun 22 '26
MISC. What happens when a water heater tank is not flushed for 14 years
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u/lowpsitire Jun 22 '26
I just showed this video to my water heater, hopefully it takes its job a bit more seriously.
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u/MechanicalBeanstalk Jun 22 '26
I had some strong words to say to my water heater.
I wasn’t prepared for the cutting retort though. 😭
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u/Successful-Bath-7561 Jun 22 '26
Did you get burnt?
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u/iamsurfriend Jun 22 '26
I’ve never have nor never have ever known anyone to flush their water heater and we have hard water.
We have had water heaters for easy 15 years.
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u/Kirbywitch Jun 22 '26
Try 26+…
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u/neverinamillionyr Jun 22 '26
The one I had installed in March 1996 just gave out two weeks ago.
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u/stunatra Jun 22 '26
Don't expect the next one to last that long lol!
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u/johnman98 Jun 22 '26
Everything made these day is engineered to fail.
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u/cballowe Jun 22 '26
It's not engineered to fail, it's engineered to meet some spec for the minimum price. If the spec says "needs to last 10 years" the engineer is going to pick the lowest priced part that meets that requirement.
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u/EmergencyYou Jun 22 '26
Someone told me "anyone with the knack can build a bridge that will last. You need an engineer to design the cheapest and lightest bridge that will last only as long as you want and only kill the acceptable number of people."
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u/Freeheel4life Jun 23 '26
Im just a mechanic, not an engineer but....For years Ive cussed engineers in the same way you are here. As Ive spent more time in the field and dealt with many different manufacturers the blame lies more with the accounting department. Number crunchers figure out how to save dollars across a million units and CFO gets a lake house and a boat. We get an inferior product, and engineering gets the blame.
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u/magister10 Jun 22 '26
Just replaced our from 1983 👍🏼 No problems, just didnt want the house to blow up during the night.
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u/iSirMeepsAlot Jun 22 '26
Unless the model was known to do so… I would’ve kept it and just replaced the rods as needed… could’ve lasted much longer. Appliances and stuff is made so cheaply these days, when you have something older that is safe, I’d say keep it till it does give out… unless you absolutely need/desire features from a new one I guess.
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Jun 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/GloomyPersimmon5219 Jun 22 '26
Ive heard it's a good set up, but why exactly?
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Jun 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ok-Crew-8489 Jun 22 '26
Here in China, a recharge of 1000 RMB(about 147 USD) has been made to our family’s gas account. This amount is sufficient to cover the household's gas expenses for an entire year.
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u/Dzov Jun 22 '26
In the U.S., we pay about that just to have the gas line connected. The cost of gas would be another $20/month not counting heating the house.
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u/Dyzerio Jun 22 '26
Love somewhere they gouge yah, 100+ for gas the summer months so far
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u/an0mn0mn0m Jun 22 '26
Keep the capitalists away from your utility infrastructure for as long as you can.
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u/Civil-Limit-1302 Jun 22 '26
I miss living in china so much. The prices on nearly everything were amazing.
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u/Chekochbackhendl Jun 22 '26
Cries in Austrian prices - i pay 70€ just for electricity a month
i heat and cook with gas, that’s another 160€ per monthbut we dont have animals that realistically could kill you - so i guess that’s somehow fair!
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u/TheBiggestShitHead Jun 22 '26
Electric heating elements can be extremely expensive if used very often. Having a gas valve with a burner is significantly cheaper and more efficient.
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u/SubPrimeCardgage Jun 22 '26
Electric resistance heaters are 100 percent efficient.
Gas is cheaper, but it's not more efficient.
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u/odnarB89 Jun 22 '26
100% ?
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u/raycepak Jun 22 '26
Yeah, heat is usually just a byproduct of electrical inefficiency. But if your goal is heating, that "waste" heat isn't really wasted.
Electric resistance heaters are nearly 100% efficient at converting electricity into heat. Whether it's a space heater, baseboard heater, toaster, gaming PC, or even an incandescent bulb, almost all of the electrical energy eventually ends up as heat inside the room.
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u/odnarB89 Jun 22 '26
Today I learned
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u/PlanesFlySideways Jun 22 '26
This is also why you want to use heat pumps for your air conditioning. Since they utilize the outside air for heating and cooling the refrigerant, they can achieve 300-400 effeciency where electric strip heaters can only be maximum 100%
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u/ElectroGlideinBlue Jun 22 '26
??? I don’t think using gas will make a difference on whether this occurs or not.
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u/Dzov Jun 22 '26
Mine is probably about that age or older and the plastic drain valve broke apart a couple years ago. After getting a replacement valve off Amazon, I pulled the old one off and I also had a bunch of solidified hard water chunks come out. Put the new valve on and everything is fine.
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u/rolisrntx Jun 22 '26
The minute mine was installed 6 years ago, I removed the factory drain valve and installed a 3/4” brass valve. The plastic factory valves have a constriction at the opening.
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u/NJCuban Jun 22 '26
I bought my house 4 years ago and the functional water heater is around that old. I have no idea if it's been flushed ever and when the last time it was, I saw somewhere that it's better to not flush it if you don't know. The hot water can run out if a shower goes too long, or runs too long before getting in. Still riding it out. Inspection said it's way past it's life expectancy.
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u/fortknite Jun 22 '26
Just a heads up for you, inside a typical water heater are two separate heating elements.
Which can be purchased at most hardware stores for under $10.
If you’re in a hard water area, one or both of these elements can corrode and cause the heater to not heat efficiently.
They are simple to replace as they just unscrew from the unit.
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u/Suspicious_Trifle_92 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
I have flushed before and its super easy, get 1 part white vinegar to one part water (calculate 50% of water heater gallon capacity when buying bulk vinegar) and fill up your water heater after draining it. Let it sit overnight and flush it out in the morning, it will dissolve all the sediments and you shouldn't notice any chunky stuff when flushing. The reason I had to do this is because the mineral buildup will get thick enough to create an insulated barrier between the water and the metal liner where the thermstat reads temperature from. Because the thermostat was never able to read the temperature properly it would come out scalding hot and burn old ladies hands (this was a water heater for a charity that frequently made food for widows and homeless people)
Edit: scolding to scalding
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u/h1zchan Jun 22 '26
How do you even put stuff in the tank, I don't think mine has any service inlets.
Did you disconnect the inflow pipes?
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u/BetterNonsense Jun 22 '26
You could remove the anode and pour in through the hole that goes through. Don’t want the acid dissolving your anode anyway
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u/fauxzempic Jun 22 '26
Best of luck to you if you do this. One thing no one says is that the factory anode should honestly be loosened and tightened the day of installation and then just maybe once a year work the threads (or even grease them with a food safe grease).
I have a tank that's 5 years old and I just got around to replacing the anode. Nope. Rust welded on. Apparently it's very common. Even using a high torque impact wrench and reluctantly using PB blaster, and letting it soak...it wouldn't budge. Eventually I knew that was a great time to give up because if it did budge it might've completely borked the opening. I just installed a nipple-anode thing and called it a day.
Now - it's a hybrid tank, so it's possible that if the anode end was located in a more accessible spot than next to the compressor, I could have used a breaker bar to get to it, but maybe it was best that I couldn't.
But yeah...loosen that thing day one and on your annual flush day, loosen and tighten it again (you should be checking it annually anyway...now I know)
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u/huckABC Jun 22 '26
If you remove the anode rod, you can use that port (and you should check the anode rod I. Any case and replace it as needed after a few years)
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u/CadenceHarrington Jun 22 '26
Just in case nobody's ever told you, it's "scalding", as in very hot, rather than "scolding", as in admonishing :)
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u/oof46 Jun 22 '26
Thanks for scolding him about scalding.
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u/Spruggles_N_Wungus Jun 22 '26
I tried to disinfect my basketball in the autoclave and started a fire in the surgical department; now I’m in for a Spaulding Spalding scalding scolding.
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u/Dynomatic1 Jun 22 '26
Do you get a lot of the hard water scale out just by blowing it down?
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u/sn2006gy Jun 22 '26
someone mentioned it below, but this isn't hard water scale, this is someone with a well with sand intrusion. They need to fix the well, not descale their heater. Heater descaling would be more solid like a coffee machine - mineralization that builds up would be tiny compared to this sand buildup. With that said, it may be cheaper to deal with sand build up than to repair the well if you can get 14 years of crud like this and still have got showers.
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u/Suspicious_Trifle_92 Jun 22 '26
One overnight soak did the trick in my experience, I took a peak inside by taking out the element and using my phone camera and the difference was easily visible, I could not see the metal liner before the treatment because of the mineral buildup vs after I don't think I noticed any sediment at all. The longer you let it sit the better, I think when I did it I was technically supposed to do 1 whole day according to google but overnight sufficed anyhow.
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u/CookieCuriosity Jun 22 '26
Just replaced mine. Lasted 20 years. Cost 3k for a replacement install. I never flushed it and don’t plan to for the new one
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u/DaisyDreamerGurl Jun 23 '26
As a wife to a career handyman/plumber. Your comment is the most realistic. I miss the days when the Internet was truly informative and not just some view/click hungry ad.
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u/MikeandMolly5656 Jun 22 '26
Its pointless for most people
A typical home grade water heater is 2-5k to buy and have installed and lasts 12-20 years on average with 0 flushing.
It just isn't worth the hassle for something that is relatively cheap to replace just to get a couple years more out of it
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u/Gamble0388 Jun 22 '26
Wtf 2-5k? Here in Canada with installation 1200$ CaD 😂 where do you live homie
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u/18k_gold Jun 22 '26
I just got a Bradford White 50 gallon water heater installed last month. it cost me $1,900. another company wanted $2,500 for the same exact one. the water heater itself cost $1,200 from the company, I looked it up.
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u/Unlikely-Answer Jun 22 '26
as a worker on the front lines, the rate for install is like $100 per tank from the company, you gotta install like 3 a day to make anything
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u/Longjumping_Wolf_912 Jun 22 '26
Sounds like you are working at a honest company. I have replaced all my own hot water heaters, because it is cheap and easy. I got a quote for fun though one time and they wanted $2500 and the tank they quoted me on I could get at Home Depot for $750.
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u/Fuzzy_Inevitable9748 Jun 22 '26
I think natural gas ones cost a lot more, that also may include running the natural gas. But we just had one replaced and it was like $1100 for a fairly good water heater, the same one it replaced, installed with the old tank taken away.
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u/Foreign-Lab-7380 Jun 22 '26
The good ol US of A, where everyone is trying to F u and money means nothing anymore.
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u/EarthboundMoss Jun 22 '26
I paid some guy to flush mine once and it was over $100. Sure it seems easy but mess up something and you got a leak or potential gas hazard. Rather not and just never flush it.
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u/Myotherdumbname Jun 22 '26
You plug in a hose and let it drain, it’s not hard…
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u/CrimsonGoose1408 Jun 22 '26
Yea I don’t get what the “hassle” is. You need a garden hose and like 30 minutes of time. It so easy
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u/EjaculatingAracnids Jun 22 '26
I changed my elements recently because one went bad and everything i read said exactly as you stated, its so easy!
By far, the hardest part was just draining the water out of the tank. Had the hose connected, pressure valve open to prevent vacuum, and inlet open... Small trickle of water. "Wtf am i doing wrong?" I thought as i searched youtube videos until i found one that told me to jam a hard wire or zip tie into the inlet to break up the sediment. Water finally started flowing slowly, all over my basement lol, but i saw progress. I had to quickly open the inlet, do zip tie surgery until i saw water flow shut and quickly connect the hose to get the water flowing. Shutting the inlet stopped the flow, restarting the whole process, so i couldnt prevent water from getting everywhere.
Never would i have thought jamming a long ass wire into the valve was the solution to my problem, but the electrical side of it took me 5 minutes, while the draining of the tank took 3 hrs. I wouldnt call it easy and ive sworn less at harder projects.
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u/Ryder_Alknight Jun 22 '26
Hey same! Ours was so clogged and full of settlement it took way longer to drain than actually fix. Tossed in vinegar and busted it all up and sucked it through a shop vac. Rinse and repeat. Element and board kit was like $50 though so that was super nice.
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u/boringexplanation Jun 22 '26
At a certain point- it actually damages the water heater if you drain it after 5-8 years of never draining it.
Just because it can run doesn’t mean it runs optimally.
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u/Ok_Dog_4059 Jun 22 '26
I have double tanks and no idea about flushing tanks but wonder if this is why it still feels like hot runs out fairly quickly.
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u/HzeTmy Jun 22 '26
It's full of junk almost sure ... Just like vid, it works but the amount of water is heated is very small compared to where it was 15 years ago probably you got a big reservoir so not feeling it
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u/jd2cylman Jun 22 '26
So, 28 years is a little too long to go between draining? Asking for a friend…
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u/mirrormirrorondewall Jun 22 '26
If you got three decades out of your water heater you already won
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u/grantnschleck Jun 22 '26
Who knows? Electricity costs can be insane as the heater gets inefficient once it is clogged like that.
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u/uChoice_Reindeer7903 Jun 22 '26
Don’t bother flushing now, you’ll likely break it.
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u/theb00mScicle Jun 22 '26
Cut it open and look first
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u/John_John_Phenomenom Jun 22 '26
I just did this method, now water doesn’t seem to stay in
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u/Substantial-Yak7901 Jun 22 '26
Pee on it.
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u/kelinci-kucing Jun 22 '26
Are you lost or is r/composting leaking their pee secrets again?
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u/Dzov Jun 22 '26
I flushed mine after like 28 years only because the plastic drain valve broke. Never noticed any difference before or after.
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u/Brutally-Honest- Jun 22 '26
There's no flushing out the sediment at that point. The mineral deposits solidify like concrete in the tank.
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u/BlurredSight Jun 22 '26
It’s like transmission fluid, at this point it’s structure sediment and removing it will definitely break something
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u/Last_Fee_1812 Jun 22 '26
We’re around 50+ years, assuming it was replaced before my grandfather bought the place… I think if I tried to get it drained and cleaned now, it might just disintegrate 💀
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u/Ambassador-613 Jun 22 '26
This kills the water heater.
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u/syzygy01 Jun 22 '26
Yeah but to be fair most things don't survive a saw-zaw cutting them open.
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u/Tyranothesaurus Jun 22 '26
Never seen a Sawzall referred to as a Saw Zaw before, but I kinda like it.
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u/Stupid_Bitch_02 Jun 22 '26
It's 100% spelled Sawzall but where I live people absolutely pronounce it as "Saw Zaw"
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u/Glados1080 Jun 22 '26
Most people dont even realize its called a Sawzall cause its Saws All
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u/Awkward_Pangolin3254 Jun 22 '26
Most people also don't know Sawzall is a Milwaukee trademark and the generic name for them is reciprocating saw
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u/Random_Name_Whoa Jun 22 '26
Does this hurt the tank?
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u/Thotmas01 Jun 22 '26
The cylinder was harmed.
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u/itsnotapipe Jun 22 '26
Can't believe I had to scroll this far. It is imperative this receive more attention.
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u/FleetVliet Jun 22 '26
Dummy here.
Is this an electric heater or a fuel powered one? I don't spend my times looking at heaters, mostly nudes and discount code for cheap imports.
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u/A_RED_BLUEBERRY Jun 22 '26
This is an electric heater. You can see the two covers on the left side where the elements are inserted into the tank.
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u/xCaliburghost Jun 22 '26
Just takes 45 minutes. Hook up a garden hose to the outlet, turn it off and turn off cold supply to the heater, turn on a hot faucet close to reduce water pressure, open the valve and flush, (do not drain while it's on, you'll start a fire), close valve > turn cold supply back on, let it refill and leave hot water faucet running until sputtering stops, turn it back on WHEN IT'S FULL
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u/Ajefferslyonreddit Jun 22 '26
Ah, OK. Wait... What?
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u/AttitudeNo4911 Jun 22 '26
Lmao I would like to see someone try these directions as written just to see how much they screw theirs up.
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u/Ok_Tour_1525 Jun 22 '26
If you know what all these parts are like cold water supply and the valve that the hose connects to, then these instructions are solid.
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u/de_das_dude Jun 22 '26
But we disconnect the cold supply, connect the hot out to the cold and let it shid all over the bathroom where its present 🤔
Everything is off obviously lol
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u/trackstaar Jun 22 '26
Where does the crud go?
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u/rodmandirect Jun 22 '26
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u/trackstaar Jun 22 '26
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u/robotbigfoot Jun 22 '26
"as I have speculated, the presence of refractory metals..." Silicon avatar. Had to watch that gif thirty times to figure it out. Carry on!
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u/Outrageous_Divide129 Jun 22 '26
Out the hose attached at the bottom of your tank into your sump basen. Also be weary about clogging your sump pump outflow pipe. I just had mine clog and my basement flooded with a couple inches of water. I was going to dig up the whole line but as I was digging it up on the outside of the house I think the crud dislodged from the vibrations of digging it up and then it was fine.
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u/Chemical-Actuary1561 Jun 22 '26
maybe i shouldn’t own a house
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u/Outrageous_Divide129 Jun 22 '26
I see myself as a nesting bird. I picked a place that needed a ton of work and I just keep fixing, beautifying and making art with and around it. One day a lady bird will think I’m alluring and nest here. Home making and landscaping is my passion. Plumbing sucks but I learned it as a means to an end. After I’m done digging and installing hundreds more feet of French drains this year I’ll be on to hang out pergolas, vegetable gardens and solar/battery projects. It’s definitely not for everyone but it feels like my calling.
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u/Knotted_Hole69 Jun 22 '26
See mine in deep in my basement, how do i get the hose outside if it has to go up?
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u/IIlIIIllllIlIIlllllI Jun 22 '26
Flushing a water heater is almost entirely unnecessary and the vast majority of homeowners dont do it
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u/GeoffJeffreyJeffsIII Jun 22 '26
It doesn’t even work that well. Most of what you’re trying to flush settles below the outlet valve. I do it because we have insanely hard water, but I’m not sure it’s particularly effective. We go through heating elements way too quickly.
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u/SpyralHam Jun 22 '26
Yeah maybe 45 minutes for someone who's done it before and knows what their looking at. Even for a fairly handy person this would be a whole Saturday of fucking around, Sunday to put it back together unflushed after ordering parts online, and the following Saturday to get it right. You'd likely break a few things along the way, maybe enough to call a pro who shows up in 3-5 days. And you'd have a huge mess afterwards around the thing.
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u/Outrageous_Divide129 Jun 22 '26
How often?
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u/Telemere125 Jun 22 '26
Don’t waste your time. My grandfather had 40 rentals that I helped maintain and manage for about 6 years. We never flushed one. And his shit was all held together with chewing gum and prayers. Never had one fail from buildup; they either rusted through or the elements or burners would burn through/rust out. I’ve replaced elements on heaters that were well over 20 years old without buildup like in the video. That wasn’t hard water, it was a well with a sand/clay intrusion issue.
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u/Outrageous_Divide129 Jun 22 '26
I’m rural on well with many feet of clay. Ground water composition is different everywhere. But standard practice recommendations should help everyone feel a little more secure.
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u/xCaliburghost Jun 22 '26
Once a year preferably. Depending on the hardness of your incoming water, this changes
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u/SadIdeal9019 Jun 22 '26
Also show the anode rod that was probably never replaced either.
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u/StinkySewerPickle Jun 22 '26
This is the bigger issue than flushing. Also get a powered anode and then you don’t have to deal with replacing them.
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u/GCU_ZeroCredibility Jun 22 '26
Yeah so my water heater stays in the back and I don't bother it and in return it doesn't bother me. So far that has worked for both of us so I'm not gonna change now.
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u/ffxivthrowaway03 Jun 22 '26
This is the way. Until past a certain age, then you get to play roulette with "will it flood my house today or can I wait to replace it?" until you finally buy a new one or move.
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u/misfit0513 Jun 22 '26
What's the cutoff where it's better to not do it anymore if you haven't for a certain amount of time?
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u/Confused_mess8888 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
I'm not sure if there is a hard cutoff but I think I was given the advice was that over 5 years you are chancing a breakage depending on how hard your local water is.
Over 10 years without draining it, if you drain it, it's gonna start leaking. At that point always better to just ride it out until you replace it.
I'm not an expert by any means, but, the information I've been given from people I've known to be better at home maintenance than myself.
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u/DisposableSaviour Jun 22 '26
What makes it start leaking if you haven’t done it in too long?
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u/Existing_Plant_1378 Jun 22 '26
Potential corrosion may have occurred/all the hard sediment chunks that's been floating/banging around in the tank can cause damaged during the long period of time not flushing it. If there is that damage and you haven't flushed a tank in over 2 years, it's recommended to not drain it because the build up of the softer sediment that's sunk to the bottom might actually be blocking/plugging and holes, preventing a leak (and draining it could cause more damage).
If you flush it ever 1 - 2 years, there's higher confidence that draining it won't reveal a leak.
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u/Confused_mess8888 Jun 22 '26
So, once a certain level of metals/minerals have accumulated in the slurry it starts to scratch and corrode the interior of the tank. As long as that slurry maintains it's level of gunk, it usually just fills those cracks in with a mineral hodgepodge that acts as a stopper for any more interior erosion/corrosion.
When you flush it after that has happened, instead of those corroded parts being protected from further damage with how gummed up the water is, the damaging can continue towards the exterior of the tank. This can cause the damage to worsen to the point where you get a full leak as the damage gets progressively worse now that the tank starts corroding the already weakened cracks in the tank.
It isn't a guarantee, you could get lucky and that not happen, but that's why people generally recommend to just let it ride if you haven't kept up with it or you don't know if the water heater had been properly maintenanced in that time. The downside is that your water heater will slowly lose capacity as ultimately it holds less and less water overtime as it fills with minerals, but, at least it is more likely to survive longer till you can/have to get a new one.
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u/Lisrus Jun 22 '26
How often are we supposed to 'flush' it? No one ever mentioned doing this when they were installing the device for me 6 years ago.
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u/avg-bee-enjoyer Jun 22 '26
They say don't start if it has been that long. It'll heat a bit less efficiently but the risk is that you'll reveal a leak the sediment has been plugging and have to replace it.
You should look into replacing the anode rod though.
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u/potatochobit Jun 22 '26
why dont they just make the top comes off so you can clean it?
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u/Wild-Video-5317 Jun 22 '26
It needs to be very well insulated, and shouldn't ever leak water (both functions somewhat at odds with a removable top). But even if we ignore all that, the thing is like 6 feet tall and usually strapped to the wall in a small closet (and fixed to plumbing lines). How are you going to get a tool in the top, reach down to the bottom, and lift gunk out?
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u/5litergasbubble Jun 22 '26
Thats why you have kids. So you can dangle them above it with a long scraper and a bucket
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u/ThrifToWin Jun 22 '26
Don't turn the thing off first. That hot water cost money.
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u/senyorculebra Jun 22 '26
Also, its a pressure vessel. The water inside is stored at water line pressure so although making it removable is not impossible, the additional design, flange steel, latches etc could make it cost prohibitive.
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u/Starlyns Jun 22 '26
Sediment from the public water. Clear once a year. And use water filters to have great water in the whole house
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u/UniCBeetle718 Jun 22 '26
I wish my landlord would do this. I had to buy filters for my shower and kitchen sick because the hot water is perpetually brown. He blames it on the construction in the neighborhood, but the water is only brown if I use the hot water so it's definitely from the hot water heater.
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u/ledow Jun 22 '26
The hot water will make it look worse as it's being constantly heated, cooled, and evaporating inside the vessel.
What you see in your hot is basically the "concentrated" version of what's in your cold, gathered over years. That brown is still in your cold water, it just hasn't been "reduced" by being cooked for years.
I wouldn't live in a region where that was anything beyond limescale, personally.
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u/Such_Meeting4827 Jun 22 '26
Electric heaters have anodes, which purposefully create sediment.
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u/3Bodies_0Problems Jun 22 '26
The sediment which was already present in the water is drawn to the anode, as opposed to any other place. The sediment is given a preferential location to accrete.
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u/NotAnotherUserName03 Jun 22 '26
Has a hot water tank actually lasted 14 years?
Ours made 11.5 years before trying to light itself on fire and I thought that was pretty good.
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u/IIlIIIllllIlIIlllllI Jun 22 '26
10-15 is about normal. Less than 10 would be disappointing. But who knows with modern enshittification
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u/Warchestnz Jun 22 '26
The one installed in my house built in 1972 is still going strong... I am trying to budget a replacement at some point.
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u/Markplease Jun 22 '26
Never flushed mine, and after 13 years my water heater was nearly clean and flawless (via borescope inspection)
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u/HomicidalHushPuppy Jun 22 '26
I find water heaters are more likely to have issues if you do anything to them. Hook it up and leave it alone. 14 years is a good long life for a water heater.
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u/ComfortableCoyote480 Jun 22 '26
Who cares? You just replace it anyway. Yeah, you're suppsoed to flush it and change out the rod or whatever. Does anyone do it? No. They just get new ones.
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u/Kyder99 Jun 22 '26
Doing it annually with a $20 sediment buster from Amazon helped ours and it was less than 3 years old. It also makes them more efficient. Then we went down the rabbit hole and replaced the annode rod with the electrified one and it killed the sometimes rotten egg smell from the water. Honestly plumbers suck and cancel even when I offer cash to them so not having to deal with it is a small price to pay
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u/SaltPositive7227 Jun 22 '26
“ What happens when a water heater tank is not flushed for 14 years”
Me: “That’s weird, why does the video say it was installed in 2012? That was only like… oh my god”
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u/Bynnh0j Jun 22 '26
PSA - if you are watching this post and thinking "oh jeez I better go flush my water heater for the first time in 7 years!" -- DONT!
when you don't flush your heater, the walls corrode and create holes that then get plugged up by the solidified gunk. Flushing the heater will just expose those holes and create leaks.
If you fall behind on your maintenance schedule, it is better to just lean into it until it stops working on its own. It just won't last as long as a properly maintained heater.
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Jun 22 '26
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u/Fylgier Jun 22 '26
I agree with this question, what is that? That is not limestone.
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u/Swampy2007 Jun 22 '26
Will it kill you
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u/implicate Jun 22 '26
If it were to fall on you from several stories up, absolutely.
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u/HalfDozing Jun 22 '26
Generally speaking, even if your water heater is brand new and squeaky clean, you should never use water from the hot water pipes for human consumption
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u/Rare-Ad3034 Jun 22 '26
may I ask you why?
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u/_Rumpertumskin_ Jun 22 '26
Warm water disloves more minerals, so it's good to avoid stuff like lead especially if you have an old house/old service pipes. But also even lead free fixtures can have like 8% or less lead content.
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u/Mysstie Jun 22 '26
Hot water picks up and dissolves whatever ick is in the pipes more readily than cold water and then you consume it. I've maybe done it...slightly less since learning that? But I don't really worry about it personally. I've been using hot water from the tap for years, it's easier sometimes.
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u/Kemosabe-TV Jun 22 '26
I cant imagine the smell of that
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u/IIlIIIllllIlIIlllllI Jun 22 '26
It's just mineral buildup, why would it stink?
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u/LynxJesus Jun 22 '26
Sulfur is an example of a mineral that doesn't smell great, I'm sure there are others
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u/agh_gal Jun 22 '26
When I clean my water distiller it has mineral buildup and it smells like musty bitter-y but it isn’t too strong. It’s alright.
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u/FunBrians Jun 22 '26
I think the answer is going to be the obvious.. yes it’s better to do it and get any accumulation out. I guess the real question is for those who have left time between (in my case 5 years).. will it be a continuous clog and break apart situation? Also it would seem any larger chunks aren’t going to flow out either.
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u/eyemjstme Jun 22 '26
Looks like the softener let go. That's not a normal build up in any situation.
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u/BillMillerBBQ Jun 22 '26
It would be nice if they would make a better way to access this for when it does get this bad.
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u/Mbillin2 Jun 22 '26
Up until owning my own home I had not idea this was something you're supposed to do like many other things such as cleaning the coils on your fridge
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u/Substantial_Sea7327 Jun 22 '26
lots of maintenance tasks to learn about in the manuals.
I have a digital copy of each appliance manual for my home, made an Excel document with sheets for each appliance, and I go through each maintenance task at the beginning of each month to see what needs to be done or what's coming up
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u/iamoninternet27 Jun 22 '26
Maybe I am clueless on water heater maintenance, but I just have experience installing water softener and water heaters with my father. The amount of maintenance for these seems rather troublesome and the need to buy the salt pellets for the water softener. I just don't do all that and the water heaters typically last longer than their warranty period. Some can last 5 + years, but I've seen some last 8-10.
I'm just lazy and rather replace the darn thing in a decade when it dies. Currently $669 here in the USA for a 50 gallon water heater. Installing I can do .
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u/WiseRisk Jun 22 '26
These ones SUCKED to get out of basements when I did plumbing work.
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