Holiday Home Maintenance: Water Heater Flush

12/24/2018 (Permalink)

Check your water heater in Vancouver, WA

Prepare for holiday guests by making sure your water heater is working its best. If you are hosting some out-of-town guests at your home in Vancouver, WA, you are probably busy making sure your guests will feel welcome and comfortable. A lot of additional demand will be placed on your hot water tank this holiday season, so here is a brief guide that will help you be ready. This is an easy way to ensure holiday memories aren’t tarnished with cold showers and house floods.

Quick Guide for a Water Heater Flush

1. Turn off electricity by finding the designated switch in the breaker box.
   
2. Connect a hose and open the drain valve.
   
3. Turn off the water supply.
   
4. Refill the tank.
   
5. Turn on power.

Because the water is very hot, be sure to use caution. Make sure you don’t touch the draining water and protect your hands by wearing gloves when handling the hose.

Read These Tips Before You Start

While the steps are simple, there are a couple of tricks that will help you after you start draining the water heater. First, make sure the pressure release valve is open. This is located on top of the tank. Close this valve again when you are ready to refill the tank.

Second, turn on the hot water at your kitchen faucet. This creates some air that will help with draining the tank. Don’t turn the faucet off until you have finished refilling the tank. The water at your kitchen faucet will start flowing normally again when the tank is full.

Ensure a Smooth Holiday

Low water pressure or a flood from an eroded water tank can interrupt your holiday and leave you unable to give house guests what they need. Prevent water heater problems by doing maintenance once a year. If you haven’t flushed your tank in a long time, do it now! Flood damage restoration is probably not something you want to do during the holidays, but thankfully there are experts available if you do have an emergency.