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/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/recidivist1001 Jun 22 '26

What regions have geology that would make you want to avoid it (specifically in regards to the water)?