For the past month there has been this annoying rattling in my water heater that I can hear throughout the house. It's going to send me to the nuthouse. I called our gas company and they came to look at it. I had hope they would fix it. That's when I found out we have sediment in our water heater. huh? Fix it!!! I wasn't there so I didn't get to ask any questions. They said the only way to get rid of it would be to replace the water heater. For real?!!! That's about 700 bucks. Can't they just go in there and take the stinkin sediment out? Has anyone dealt with this? I just don't want to get hosed into putting out unecessary money. Oh and the water heater is 5 years old.
You can drain the water heater. One "should" do that yearly but we have the same sound after 14 years of never cleaning it! I saw a This Old House episode where the plumber guy mentioned that he removed a 30 year old water heater from a house and when he opened it, it was more than 3/4 full of sediment!!! You can google instructions, here is one:
http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_drain-water-heater.html
Bobbi is right. This has nothing to do with the gas company.
I believe that once you are to this point you need to replace the tank before it splits and your basement floods.
It is my understanding that when the hot water tank is new you need to drain so much of the water on a regular basis to eliminate the sediment. You must do it consistently or else you do more harm than good. The other option is to do nothing.
I personally do not drain mine and live in an area with hard water. It is more than 5 years old so apparently doing nothing is an option.
Well this isn't the gas company's responsibility. So don't blame them. They are responsible for the gas coming in to your home, not your appliances.
You must have very hard water. I do too. You should replace it before it leaks. With mine, the bottom totally rotted out because of the sediment, and I had a huge mess of water on my basement floor. (I ignored the rattling, which had been going on for months.) And no, they can't just take the sediment out. You can't take apart a water heater. My last one lasted 8 years. My handyman (who is a friend that I trust) said that's about right for a home with hard water. Sorry.
How old is the water heater? No you can not get the sediment out you have to replace it. They last depending on use and how your water is 8-12 years. Good Luck! PS I had to replace mine this week and it was $950 for a plumber and the heater it has a 6yr complete replacement warranty.
J.
Call a plumber & have it drained if you can't do that yourselves.
All water heaters get sediment in them over time.
If you drain your water heater yearly, you can remove a lot of sediment that builds up, but you also have to realize that minerals can also build up on the inside of your tank. Have you ever dropped a tea kettle you've boiled water in for years? Minerals have built up inside and when you dropped it they break and these little stone like pieces come out. It's the same with your water heater. If you have hard water the minerals build up faster. A tea kettle is easy to fill up with vinegar to dissolve the minerals, then you can rinse them out. That's not possible with a water tank. A water heater can typically last 5-10 years. It sounds like yours is about the right age for replacement.
Most heaters get the sediment settled in there after years of taking in water and then putting out the hot water through the pipes. There is a valve on the water tank near the bottom that should be accessed once a month to remove about a bucket full of water. Doing this helps a hot water tank last longer. The sediment settles in the bottom of the tank and removing a bucket full helps get rid of some of it--though you don't really see it much. If this is not done, it can build up and require a new tank. You could get a second opinion but if there is too much, you would need a new tank. My neighbor's tank went out last year. He priced them everywhere and ended up with $400 bill. He installed it himself rather than pay the $175 installation fee.
Water heaters should last at least 10 years if not more. You can go online to youtube and see instructions on how to drain your hot water heater (gas or electric) to get rid of the sediment. You shouldn't have to get a new hot water heater. The only hassle might be re-lighting the pilot light. Just be SUPER careful when dealing with gas. You can also call an appliance repair place and see how much they would charge to do it.
