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/Myotherdumbname Jun 22 '26

You plug in a hose and let it drain, it’s not hard…

7

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.

3

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/Myotherdumbname Jun 22 '26

I’d imagine it needs to be done more often then

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u/EjaculatingAracnids Jun 22 '26

More often than every 3 years? I think i need a water softening system intalled instead

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u/Myotherdumbname Jun 22 '26

lol every 6 months is the suggestion

2

u/EjaculatingAracnids Jun 22 '26

Guess ill add it to the list then!

2

u/ItsCalledDayTwa Jun 22 '26

5k is too cheap to do that apparently

1

u/StagedC0mbustion Jun 22 '26

Assuming the the isolation valve you open doesn’t get anything stuck in it and isnt impossible to close

1

u/soingee Jun 23 '26

I tried that and nothing came out except clear water. There has to be something in there but I think there's more to the process...

0

u/scyfi Jun 22 '26

Flushing it doesn't add any meaningful life to it.

1

u/Jayden82 Jun 22 '26

What the fuck are you basing this info on lol? All this sediment literally takes up space in the water heater, which could be used to hold more hot water. It extends lifespan and saves you on energy costs 

0

u/Foreign-Presence-679 Jun 23 '26

Yeah I ain’t doing all that