Drain yearly. Replace anode rods as needed.

What about tankless water heaters?

I’ve lived in my house for four years and have never touched the water heater >_>

What do I do

be more constructive with your feedback

what do we need to do? other than google it.

Handy? Google it. Not handy? Call someone handy.

Call your local gas utility for a free annual inspection. They'll usually brush out the fallen debris on the burner and clean up the pilot and notify you of any lingering issues.

That was great.

Unless it’s an electric water heater. In which case the gas company will look puzzled.

Do I turn the gas and water off then drain ? Or do I just hook up a hose and drain sediment like I have been?

There's a fluid you can run through it.

Change your filters. Don’t have an inline filter? You probably should.

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.

Shut off water valve. Disconnect water main line and then drain like normal. Also a good idea to flush it out while u have the drain hose connected

My electric water heater needs to be changed after 10 years or the insurance no longer covers water damage.

I am lazy. I just wait until I have a long list of non-emergency items for my plumber and add it to the list. He drains the tank and refills it. Also cleans the burner.

Drained mine last year after 3 years of use and there was no sediment or anything it was completely clear:

Drained mine last year after 3 years of use and there was no sediment or anything it was completely clear.

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.

How often do you have a list for a plumber? Last time I had a plumber out was 6 years ago during a bathroom remodel.

Once a year. I have 120 yo house.

It’s even more important to perform annual maintenance on a tankless water heater than a conventional tank water heater. Look up the manual for your model to see what’s needed.

Turn off power then turn off water and drain it once a year, or twice if you have really hard water. Replace anode rod every 3-5 years. And if the water heater does stop working. The heater element can be replaced for like $30. Just drain it, and always fill it before you turn the power back on.

It's not hard to do. Attach a garden hose to the bottom, turn off power and shut off water. Drain through the garden hose. You're probably due for a new anode rod as well. Turn off power first also, if you're feeling fancy, take out the heater element and clean it.

I replaced my anode rod last year. My conclusion, the anode rod lasts the lifetime of the water heater, which is defined by the lifetime of the anode rode.

There's a fundamental design problem. The anode rod is installed in the water heater at the factory. Removing the rod requires that you have 5ft of clearance ABOVE the water heater. If you don't have that, it's darned near impossible to replace. So it's effectively a lifetime item.

That can be the case for many people, someone should design a collapsible one, or multiple part one that connects. allowing everyone to change it. I just bought a hybrid 80 gal, I only have 2ft of clearance above it. I'm gonna have to cut a hole in the ceiling and put in an access panel. glad mines in the garage lol.

When I pulled out my 12yo heater, the anode rod was nothing. There was nothing left.

I’m no plumber but I’d think it would be much easier to disconnect the water heater and tilt it sideways (after draining obviously). They’re not very hard to connect/disconnect and then you don’t need to cut a hole in your ceiling

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.

In Belgium it's even mandatory to do maintain gas heater every 2 year. You get a document from your technician.

It’s all fun until your tank gives out.

With insufficient clearance it is my understanding that you break the old rod as you remove it and install a new segmented rod like this one... https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Lightning-Rod-Original3-4-in-Hex-Plug-Aluminum-Zinc/5001418315?cm_mmc=shp--c--prd--plb--ggl--LIA_PLB_209_Water-Heaters--5001418315--local--0-_-0

I know you probably meant “rod” instead of “roof” but it’s especially funny given the context of this conversation lol

Thanks. You're correct, and I fixed my comment!

Won't last forever, but will give it a chance at lasting a few more years effectively.

That’s a good way to need a plumber. 90% of people should not attempt changing an aerator let alone an anode rod. Those things don’t just come out most of the time. Even if you do have clearance you should disconnect the water and gas lines just from danger of the water heater twisting when your wrenching them out. Everything on a water heater is technically easy but if you go into it thinking it’s going to be without having done it your setting yourself up for failure.

As a plumber that’s cleaned up after many of these people, this is the way to go. Most of household plumbing is easy but only if you know what your doing. There’s a small dumb trick to about everything.

I’m responding to someone who already plans to work on his water heater and wants to cut a hole in his ceiling to do so

Breaking it isn't easy. There's a 3/16 stainless steel core rod in the middle of mine. I had to hack saw it out while it was partially out.
Not worth the effort.