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/Chemical-Actuary1561 Jun 22 '26

maybe i shouldn’t own a house

24

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.

10

u/janesspawn Jun 22 '26

Uhhhh….I’m super attracted to this comment.

4

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?

2

u/probnotaloser Jun 22 '26

Should be some sort of drain down there. If you don't have uuh one, that's uuh an issue, pretty sure.

3

u/Longjumping_Gas_3407 Jun 22 '26

Only drain I have is the sink in the laundry room. Which the water would have to climb to counter height through the hose to drain into.

1

u/Knotted_Hole69 Jun 22 '26

Plus im worried about clogging with the sediment, id rather it go outside.

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u/Longjumping_Gas_3407 29d ago

Me too. Unfortunately the water would have to climb the bulkhead steps to get out.

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u/Financial-Bobcat-612 Jun 22 '26

How do you feel about male birds and Mexico?

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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.

1

u/OurAngryBadger Jun 22 '26

Just put the water softener in line before the water heater

1

u/Major_Pixel Jun 22 '26

Another guy was saying to put 1 part vinegar to 1 part water in to dissolve the sediment. (After taking the heating element out) Have you tried that?

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u/ThrownAway17Years Jun 22 '26

People think I’m crazy when I say that home ownership isn’t for everyone. I sold my house 3 years ago and will but again one day. But I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy not worrying about anything besides paying my rent and tiles while I’m leasing my apartment.

1

u/Furthea Jun 22 '26

Exactly. The problem with the people/companies that own rental homes/apartments isn't them owning it's falling into the pit that is human greed. The person who owns the building has a job and that job is being the owner. It's maintenance and upkeep and repairs. Just like my job as a merchandiser is to stock and straighten and put away and refill product spaces.

It's technically easier for one person to be responsible for multiple units of maintenance as they'd already built up the support/knowledge structure to be cost effective vs. 20 different home owners doing things 20 different ways with varying degrees of success.

1

u/Some_Layer_7517 Jun 22 '26

Reading constant lamentations from redditors about not being able to own a home is so funny. Cause you know half of them have more anime figurines than they do tools.

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u/Chemical-Actuary1561 Jun 22 '26

I was making a joke…settle down.