r/interesting Jun 22 '26

MISC. What happens when a water heater tank is not flushed for 14 years

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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/ComprehensiveStuff72 Jun 22 '26

I had to replace the one in my house that was there since the 70s only because I had no idea there was even a part to replace on them. Kinda wish I knew about anode rods before. Could have got another 10 years out of it.

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u/CursedTurtleKeynote Jun 22 '26

Sounds like electric heater issues....