Save Money on Your Hot Water Bill: Flush Your Hot Water Tank
Hot water tanks are one of the costlier items of the home. They are on 24-hours per day providing a ready supply of hot water for you and your family.
Insulating the tank with a thermal jacket for that purpose can reduce this cost but there are other more direct measures that the average homeowner can do for greater cost savings.
Hot Water Tank
The potable water that comes into your hot water tank is pure enough to drink courtesy of your city DPW (Department of Public Works) of course, but the pipes through which it is transmitted are often old and corroded, loaded with silty deposits. This is normal of course and over time as you’re probably aware, the water pipes in your home become caked with these scaly deposits. Just imagine what the inside of your water tank must be like! The water that sits in your hot water tank is un-agitated so silt and dissolved elements precipitate out and settle on the bottom of your tank. Hot water tanks receive benefits by being drained and flushed once per year. There are procedural steps that must be taken before you begin.
Power Off, Drain the Hot Water Tank
Safety first, you must shut off the electric power to the hot water tank. This can be done via the master fuse box. One can then un-wire the ‘hot’ wire that supplies energy to the hot water tank’s heating element and secure this supply wire from touching any grounding surface. Turn your power back on if necessary. This is done because you need to let the water in the hot water tank fully cool before you proceed. You may not be able to allow the entire home to be without power for the time it takes to drain the tank, so disconnecting the supply wire directly from the hot water tank is often the preferred method.
Allow the water in the tank several hours to cool completely before attempting to drain. This is for your safety and to prevent serious damage to the heating element of the tank. The heating element should never be allowed to be both hot, and not submerged with water. Turn the water supply off to the tank. This usually a hand-valve located on or very near the tank, otherwise you might be filling the tank as fast as it drains.
At the bottom of the hot water tank there is a drain valve. Connect a length of water hose to this to conduct the water to a safe and convenient discharge, a floor drain or conduct to the outside of the home. Open the valve of the hot water tank and let the water drain out. This will take some time to perform.
Common Garden Water Hose
All the sludge and gunk that has settled on the bottom of the tank will flow out with the water, often in lumps. This sludge can be jelly-like, dark and sometimes colorful from metallic ions that have dissolved in the water. A green or blue color is common from copper and iron present in many municipal water supply pipes. This precipitate accumulates on the bottom of your hot water tank along with soft lime deposits as a sludge. It is this sludge that insulates the heating element from efficient heat exchange to the water. This makes your tank work longer and harder than it needs to in order to maintain the pre-set temperature.
Flush the Empty Hot Water Tank to Remove Sludge
When the draining is complete and while this drain valve is still open, turn the water supply back on and let the incoming fresh water flush the now empty tank. When the discharge coming out of the water hose looks clear, you can turn off the water supply, close the discharge valve and remove the water drain hose.
Fill the tank by opening the water supply and fill the tank completely. Test this by running the hot water taps in your kitchen or bathroom. There will be air in the lines so sputtering can be expected. When you get a full steam of water, the tank and lines are now purged of air.
Next, re-attach the power to the hot water tank and turn the power back on. The hot water tank will now begin to heat up again.
Softer Hot Water for Cleaner Hair When Showering
In the absence of the sludge and gunk your water heater will perform more efficiently. Your water will taste better (assuming you use water from the hot tap to fill your tea kettle,) and your dishes will rinse cleaner. You will likely notice this too when you bathe or shower. Washing your hair will be a surprise as you may find that you won’t need to use conditioner so often. The water won’t be so hard. It was the lime, calcium and metallic elements dissolved in the hot water that was making your hair feel unclean and ’stiff’ even after showering. One should notice a reduced electric bill as well because the heating element won’t have to work so hard now to heat the water.
