SgtEddieWinslow t1_ja5geq0 wrote on February 26, 2023 at 11:53 PM

Reply to comment by Every-Swimmer458 in Maintain your water heater just once a year; it will last forever. by flyeaglesfly777

Once a year flush it out. It’s a very easy process, and the cost of materials isn’t expensive.

Get one 5 gallon pail, a submersible pump and two dishwasher hoses. You can either use vinegar, or buy a bottle of cleaner. The vinegar works fine, but you need to flush it out longer than the specialized cleaner. I just use vinegar as it’s half the cost typically.

Basically fill up the pail with the cleaning agent, turn off the gas to the tankless unit, unplug it from power. Your unit “should” have two maintenance ports for a cold and hot water line.

Basically connect the pump into the cold water port, use the second hose from the hot water port and have it drain back into the pail.

Takes about 1-2 hours with the vinegar. And 30-45 mins with the commercial cleaning agent.

When done. Disconnect the pump and hoses. Close all maintenance ports. Turn the tanks power and gas back on, and run your hot water for about 5-10 mins to drain all vinegar out of the lines.

YouTube your specific unit. Most are all done the same way.

slawre89 t1_ja5z5x6 wrote on February 27, 2023 at 2:18 AM

Citric acid is cheap and likely the main ingredient in the specialized cleaner. It’s a strong chelator which is a fancy way of saying it’s great at dissolving rust. It’s typically sold as a powder so just mix it with hot water for cleaning.

This does the exact same thing chemically as the vinegar (acetic acid) but much better.

The_Illist_Physicist t1_ja77fxo wrote on February 27, 2023 at 10:27 AM

Seconding the use of citric acid for descaling, cleaning, disinfecting, and rust removal. It's a very powerful, versatile chemical that really doesn't get the love it deserves.