Does a Water Heater Really Need to be Drained and Flushed?

Does your gas or electric water heater actually need to be drained and flushed every year or is this something completely unnecessary? For most people, it is better if they simply don't disturb their water heater and let it do its thing. No draining, no flushing, no replacing anode rods. Why do I say this? Simply because I have seen many old water heaters that were very old but never had any kind of maintenance done to them. I have also seen plenty of water heaters that needed to be replaced when they were under 10 years old even though the homeowner had flushed it every year, replaced the anode rod, and yanked the pressure relief valve on a yearly basis... Throughout the years, seeing all these water heaters brought me to a conclusion that draining and flushing a water heater is not necessary. For most people not doing this chore would only be a good thing.
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#howtodrainwaterheater #waterheater #waterheaterdraining #howtoflushwaterheater #wordofadvicetv

[WordofAdviceTV]

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[thewaterheaterfactory]

If its new flush it once a year, if its old and never flushed, don't touch it! Highly suggest however you change the anode rod !! #1 maintence tip for water heaters!! My opinion! Thanks! great video

[lizzard]

Unbelievably good video, clear and thorough. My water heater is about 30 years old, never flushed by me, 2nd owner.

[hoa]

I had a 40 gal A.O.Smith gas water heater for 20 years. I did not do any maintenance like draining/ flushing or change anod rod. One day, I heard hissing noises and saw water coming out at the bottom, I knew it's time to replace it. when the plumber came to install the new one, he said that none of his clients has ever done any maintenance and their gas water heaters have lasted as long as mine, or even longer in some cases. He also said that in his experience, he sees that city water seems to have less sediments build-up than well water.

[JohnVJay]

This was really informative and reassured me that I wasn't a terrible person for not flushing mine. I am on city water and gas, hardly any sediment. I also learned the hard way not to open the pressure relief valve unless really necessary because it can be hard to get it to seal properly afterward.

[d.e.b.b]

My dad replaced the family house's water heater in 1963; when we sold the house in 2015, the hot water heater was still working fine, never having been drained, and the anode was never replaced. And yes, the area had hard water. The advice not to flush, came from my dad's friend, a plumber by trade.

[chrisstout]

Gas Water heater is 33 years old. We get mineral deposits on all faucets so we have hard water. Haven’t had soft water for the last 28 years as the unit died. Never flushed. The water heater. Had the pilot light electronics replaced a few years ago. Works great. Always delivers really hot water. Some manufacturer knew how to build this to last. Same with fridge and microwave.

[pleskbruce]

This is the best video on flushing a water heater on youtube. I just flushed mine yesterday and hadn't seen this, but the process turned out exactly as you described. We have well water with a fair amount of sediment, so I decided that I'll do mine once a year.

[desimo]

Agree completely. Mine is 23 years old and has never been drained for flushed. And we have very hard water here as well.

[albongo]

This is the best comprehensive breakdown on YouTube for ALL of this.

I’m trying to change the anode and need to change and clean it due to my well system

[godbluffvdgg]

I'm so happy to hear you say not to drain...It really depends on where you live...I've been installing them for over 30 years, I wouldn't drain one, and nobody I know ever does... We usually get 12-15 years on ours..

[thebewitchinghour]

I was fascinated by this video. It seems that most of the negative comments are including the fact that the sentiment with ruin the heating rods if you don't drain and flush. He specifically said at the beginning of the video that electric ones with the heating rods would require flushing more so than gas ones because of the build up on the rods. So some of the comments are people just being negative.

[tonybrunetti]

What I do I drain about 3 to 5 gallons every 3 months, sometimes there is a lot of sediment sitting on bottom. But I never drain the entire tank. Great video.

[donaldrothenberger]

I agree with you that if proper maintenance hasn’t been done for 5 years or more it’s probably too late. Flushing a new water heater once or twice a year will absolutely keep it from filling with mineral buildup, which will increase the life of the water heater. For me it’s common sense

[fawfulfan]

I actually just did mine today. I've gone seven years without flushing and I live in an area with pretty hard water (even though I use a softener). It's a relief to know that I wasn't being neglectful by not doing it all this time, but I'm still kinda glad I did it because the water coming out of mine looked much worse than this.

[hiramnoone]

You're absolutely right. 19 year old water heater, no problems till I flushed it. Got the drippy faucet immediately as you predicted, which I "fixed" with a plastic bottle cap.
Wish I'd watched this first.

[JoseGarcia-hlth]

Thank you! When my gas water heater was installed, the plumber said not to drain. My 10 year water heater is now 16 years old and no issues.

[donaldshimkus]

It usually depends on whether you have city or well water. Either way, drain your water heater once a year for 2 tears, that will tell you if you need to drain it regularly or not. I leave everything closed but the main w/h supply, that way I power flush AND it stirs up any sediment on the bottom. ALWAYS use a tub spout to purge air and junk from the pipes so as not to clog aerators on faucets. But you did a good job. Keep being helpful.

[AlanSansoucie]

One of the best instructional videos I've ever seen on YouTube.

[jandoherty]

Thank you so much for your helpful information. I have no idea how to drain my water heater and it’s been doing just fine for like 10 years so I’m just going to leave it alone. I totally appreciate your help with this situation And your honesty and not trying to scare people about the situation.