Article Sphere Logo
 

Water Heater Sediment, What Is It and What Should You Do About It?

By Expert Author: William J. Lund Platinum Expert Author | Article Abstract
Word Count: 580 words | Views: 213 view(s)
The sediment in the bottom of your water heater is any solid material that settles to the bottom. Its can be sand or other debris from your well or the water mains, or it can be minerals, (calcium carbonate), that precipitates out of the water at higher temperatures.

In the case of water mains, the water company may periodically clear sediment from their mains by opening up a fire hydrant full blast for a while. If you happen to use your water while the sediment is flowing past your house you get to share in the bounty.

The amount of sediment that builds up in your water heater will depend heavily on where you are located. If your city water supply is filtered, and you water is naturally soft with little mineral content, then you may have none or very little sediment. In other areas you may have a large buildup of sediment.

A small amount of sediment at the bottom of your water heater is not serious. Only if you have a large buildup does it have a significant impact. A deep layer of sediment displaces water and reduces the amount of hot water available for your use. It can also clog the drain valve and possibly affect the efficiency of the water heater.

In addition, sediment can slow the heat transfer and overheat the bottom of the tank. Overheating can weaken the steel and damage the lining of the tank. With electric water heaters, if the sediment covers the bottom heating element, the element can overheat and burn out. If it gets into hot water circulating systems it can cause problems with the pump and valves.

Sediment can cause noises like popping and other strange sounds as water between the tank bottom and the layer of sediment turns to steam bubbles.

Occasionally you hear that it is bad to drink water from the water heater. There is no basis for such a conclusion. Heating water with your water heater is no different than heading water in your tea pot. If drinking water from the water heater was dangerous you would hear about it from the NSF, FDA, EPA, AMA, CDC, or someone in a position of authority.

The only difference between the water coming out of your tank and the water going in is that the water coming out is hotter and might have fewer minerals if they precipitated out of the water and formed sediment.

How frequently you might need to flush your heater depends on how much debris accumulates. It could be none or you may need to do it once a year. If you have a real problem with sediment, and it’s due to debris coming from a water main or well, then installing a whole house filtration system can reduce the sediment accumulation and extend the life of your plumbing fixtures and appliances.

Some claim that by using a curved dip tube will help stir up the sediment and reduce the accumulation and make it easier to flush. Some say that is not true. I do not know.

Original equipment drain valves are easily plugged with debris from the sediment and if you are in a position where you will need to drain your heater frequently then it would probably be smart to replace the valve with a full-bore brass ball valve and install a hose adaptor on it for quick easy draining or flushing.

Now you are a water heater sediment expert!
William J. Lund

About the Author/Author Bio

All about tankless water heaters and how they differ from tank type water heaters: Tankless Water Heaters Find out if your hot water plumbing system is green: Green Plumbing Systems Tankless and tank type water heater information.

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Water-Heater-Sediment--What-Is-It-and-What-Should-You-Do-About-It-/186908

Article Submitted: 2009-05-19 | This Article has been viewed 213 times.

Rate Article

Related Videos

How to Install a Tankless Water Heater
How to Save Using Tankless Water Heaters
Water Heater Tips
Hot Water Heater Maintenance Tips for Your Home
How to Install a Hot Water Heater
 

More "Home Improvement" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Home Improvement" article category.

People interested in the above article "Water Heater Sediment, What Is It and What Should You Do About It?" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
A small master bathroom remodel can be problematic because you obviously only have a limited amount of space to work with. People who are looking to purchase a new home are often put off by cramped master bathrooms, and this is especially true for those who love to take baths or spend hours getting ready. Therefore if you are going to plan a small master bathroom remodel it is a good idea to make efficient use of the space so that you can make it appear larger than it really is.
Choosing the right bathroom remodeling design before you start the remodeling is very important. Not having a clear vision of how you want the bathroom to look once you implement the bathroom remodeling design project can not only cause a waste in time and money, but can leave you with an incomplete or mismatched bathroom that does not look the way you envisioned it.
A hot water radiator is simply a copper pipe repeatedly bent at right angles to produce a heating surface with the maximum area. The heat pipes follow the ridged lines. Water enters and leaves through valves at the bottom.
Electric point of use water heaters have some real benefits, but there can be substantial problems when it comes to the installation including potentially high installation costs, so plan your plumbing layout carefully.
There are a lot of homes on the market currently and it can be hard to entice buyers into your home to show them how fabulous your home is if the outside of your home isn't very interesting. To get prospective buyers into your home, you need to make sure that your home has curb appeal to draw them inside.
Looking for simple DIY projects to give your Chicago home a mini facelift? Here are 5 easy home improvement jobs you can do on your own to refresh your house or condo.
Basement finishing remodeling is perhaps the best bet in helping a homeowner double the area in their home. In fact, a properly finished basement can give you enough space to create a room for recreational activities, a gaming room, a nice bar as well as even bedrooms with attached bathrooms. The best part about basement finishing remodeling is that it is generally a low cost activity and the reason for this is that there is no need to do any construction.
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Home And Family Home Improvement
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.

Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Belarusian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish German English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italiano Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Dutch Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish