Hi,

This past weekend we flushed out our Hot Water Heater (Electric-Rheems). There was all sorts of crud in there, we got a bunch of sand out of it and some other stuff. We followed the directions from the Rheems site for draining the hot water heater.

The problem now is our hot water has a brownish tint to it. We really notice it when filling up the bathtub or against any white surface. We thought maybe we stirred something up and that it would settle out after a few days, but it hasn't. Did we do something wrong??

One thing I notice on other sites (not Rheems), they talked about a power flush where you run the cold water in after the hot water drains out, to flush the system out more. Is that something we should have done? Could that be the problem? We never had brown water before, but now it's all brown and it doesn't seem to be clearing up any, after sitting, or letting it run.

Any suggestions?? If I don't have to drain it again I would rather not, (our water bill is going to be outrageous as it is) but if that's the only option, please let me know.

THANKS!!

April:(

Hmmmm... you'll probably need one of the real experts - like speedball1 - to help you with this issue.

However, since I'm here anyway, might as well put in my two cents on that last part of your post:

Any suggestions??? If I don't have to drain it again I would rather not, (our water bill is gonna be outrageous as it is) but if that's the only option, please let me know.

I don't know what the Rheems website claims, but "flushing" the water heater does NOT involve pouring the entire contents down the drain; you just have to let a few gallons run until the water comes out clear. So don't worry about your water bill. ;)

Hi April,

"One thing I notice on other sites (not Rheems), they talked about a power flush where you run the cold water in after the hot water drains out, to flush the system out more. Is that something we should have done? Could that be the problem? We never had brown water before, but now it's all brown and it doesn't seem to be clearing up any, after sitting, or letting it run.
Any suggestions???"

Draining your water heater is just a tad better then doing nothing. Draining the heater does just that. It drains using gravity as a force. In a 40 gallon tank that will give you a head pressure of a little over two pounds.
Flushing your heater will blast out that ugly brown,(iron oxide, rust) that's lurking in the bottom with 45 to 50 pounds. Let me show you how.
For long life and fewer troubles you should keep your heater clear of mineral build-up by flushing on a regular schedule. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run until the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) followed by white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). This shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Do this monthly to keep it clear. Now flush out your hot water lines on ALL fixtures. Now pull each aerator and clean the screens. Be sure you put them back togather the same way you took them out. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Hope this helps, Tom

Hi April,

"One thing I notice on other sites (not Rheems), they talked about a power flush where you run the cold water in after the hot water drains out, to flush the system out more. Is that something we should have done? Could that be the problem? We never had brown water before, but now it's all brown and it doesn't seem to be clearing up any, after sitting, or letting it run.
Any suggestions???"

Draining your water heater is just a tad better then doing nothing. Draining the heater does just that. It drains using gravity as a force. In a 40 gallon tank that will give you a head pressure of a little over two pounds.
Flushing your heater will blast out that ugly brown,(iron oxide, rust) that's lurking in the bottom with 45 to 50 pounds. Let me show you how.
For long life and fewer troubles you should keep your heater clear of mineral build-up by flushing on a regular schedule. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run untill the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) followed by white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). This shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Do this monthly to keep it clear. Now flush out your hot water lines on ALL fixtures. Now pull each aerator and clean the screens. Be sure you put them back togather the same way you took them out. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Hope this helps, Tom

Thanks for answering so quickly, Tom. I am a little confused and need some clarification though...

Should I drain the system first or should I just turn on the cold water and let it run as I let the water drain out the bottom? Now that the water is brown, do I have to drain the entire tank to get rid of that brown stuff??

Thanks again.
April

Hmmmm... you'll probably need one of the real experts - like speedball1 - to help you with this issue.

However, since I'm here anyway, might as well put in my two cents on that last part of your post:


I don't know what the Rheems website claims, but "flushing" the water heater does NOT involve pouring the entire contents down the drain; you just have to let a few gallons run until the water comes out clear. So don't worry about your water bill. ;)

On the Rheem website and several others I looked at, they tell you to let the water tank completely drain out so that's what we did. That may be out problem!

You may shut off the cold water supply to the heater and drain it with a head pressure of a little over 2 PSI or you can leave the cold water on and flush it out with 45 to 50 PSI. Your choice. Regards, tom

You may shut off the cold water supply to the heater and drain it with a head pressure of a little over 2 PSI or you can leave the cold water on and flush it out with 45 to 50 PSI. Your choice. Regards, tom


Thanks, Tom. I left the cold water on and flushed it and now the brown color is gone. Yay! Some gross white chunks of stuff came out so I'm glad I did use the higher pressure method. Thanks for your help!!

April

April,

Just for future reference: you will probably never need to drain your water heater (by shutting off the cold water and letting gravity force the water out the bottom), unless some internal component (like one of the heating elements) has to be repaired, or unless the entire boiler needs to be replaced. Basically, draining a water heater generally should only be done when you need to (as the name implies) empty out the tank, so that you can either access the inside of the tank (or remove parts from it), or remove the tank from your house completely.

On the other hand, flushing the water heater (by leaving on the cold water) will keep the tank full, so it's useless for a job that involves accessing internal components or removing the tank; however, it's extremely useful for getting rid of impurites (like rust, calcium chunks, dirt, etc.) due to the high pressure involved.

In summary, here's a general rule of thumb: The purpose of DRAINING is to get rid of the water so the heater can be accessed/removed, while what happents to the water is irrelevant; the purpose of FLUSHING is irrelevant to the heater (of course, the heater will definitely benefit from it; I mean that the purpose is not to do anything to the heater itself), but will significantly improve the water supply.

HTH,
Moishe

April,

Just for future reference: you will probably never need to drain your water heater (by shutting off the cold water and letting gravity force the water out the bottom), unless some internal component (like one of the heating elements) has to be repaired, or unless the entire boiler needs to be replaced. Basically, draining a water heater generally should only be done when you need to (as the name implies) empty out the tank, so that you can either access the inside of the tank (or remove parts from it), or remove the tank from your house completely.

On the other hand, flushing the water heater (by leaving on the cold water) will keep the tank full, so it's useless for a job that involves accessing internal components or removing the tank; however, it's extremely useful for getting rid of impurites (like rust, calcium chunks, dirt, etc.) due to the high pressure involved.

In summary, here's a general rule of thumb: The purpose of DRAINING is to get rid of the water so the heater can be accessed/removed, while what happents to the water is irrelevant; the purpose of FLUSHING is irrelevant to the heater (of course, the heater will definitely benefit from it; I mean that the purpose is not to do anything to the heater itself), but will significantly improve the water supply.

HTH,
Moishe

Ooops. Think I commented, when I meant to respond!!

Thanks for the information. I was just following the lead of the Rheem site. They actually call it "flushing" but what they describe is 'draining'. Now I know so I am good for next time. Thank yoU!!

This technique worked! I started by doing what Ruud stated to do, and all I got was brown water... then... I found this site and did what you suggested to do, just drain out a few gallons of cold (well a little more than a few) and it worked!. after a lot of work... (I had to use a shop vac to evacuate the water, a hose would not fit in the space, nor would the drain contain the water) but now I have clear hot running water... It was well worth the effort and it saved me the cost of a plumber... I cleaned all the screens to the faucets... as well. Thanks for your suggestion Tom.

msfixit:-)

Brown hot water

kekj,

What is your question? Thanks.

John

brown hot water

Flushing your heater will blast out that ugly brown,(iron oxide, rust) that's lurking in the bottom with 45 to 50 pounds. Let me show you how.
For long life and fewer troubles you should keep your heater clear of mineral build-up by flushing on a regular schedule. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run until the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) followed by white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). This shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Do this monthly to keep it clear. Now flush out your hot water lines on ALL fixtures. Now pull each aerator and clean the screens. Be sure you put them back togather the same way you took them out. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my answer. Tom

I've actually had the same problem since moving into my new home 1 1/2 yrs ago. Currently my plumber does not think it's the water heater so he's having the water tested (other than the hardness test before). I've tried explaining to him that the cold water is crystal clear in our whirlpool tub, but the hot water is brown. What you've described about "flushing" the system is perfectly fine. As far as a power flush, it has been recommended by the plumbers I've talked to kind of creating a powerful downward pressure to break things up. As of right now, I don't have an answer, though I still tend to think it's something with my water heater. I can't give my make/model though it's run off propane as I'm not home now. If/when I do find something, I will gladly let you know. Keep me posted as well!

I'm having the same problem. One year old house, on well water, and the hot water comes out brown with the cold water clear. I flushed the hot water heater for about 10 minutes, and brown water still came out of the hose (kept the cold water one for more pressure.) What else can it be, or is my tank so dirty it needs something else (hard to believe on a brand new heater.)

All I can say is follow the flushing directions posted above. Keep fuushing until the water runs clear. Don't just "drain" the heater. Power flush it by leaving the pressure on. Good luck, Tom

One thought on this subject. When "power flushing", cold water enters the water heater through the dip tube as seen below. Coming in at 50# of pressure could easily have the effect of keeping the discoloration "stirred up" in the tank. In that case, simply draining the tank might be a wise alternative. Just a thought. I will certainly agree that the power flush idea is generally the way to go.

BTW, If you are going to drain it, be sure to turn it off first.

http://www.masterplumber.net/electricwh/howdiptubeworks.gif

My plumber came in and installed a commercial grade water softener. According the water test completed by a third party, I had 60gpg of hardness. The original softener could only handle about 25-30gpg. With the new one I have it set to 100gpg and have not had one issue with the water. Even some of the scum rings left in the toilet after time have disappeared.

Gus, were you also having problems with iron?

I was told the amount of iron, but cannot remember specifically what the level was. They told me it wasn't a terribly high amount, but I figured it must have been a higher than normal since the yellow scum stains have disappeared from the toilets.

Yep - I just found oleaving the water on and draining through the valve on the bottom works great. But I had to drain a lot, almost the entire tank. There was still some sediment coming out but very little and the water was clear not brown. I don't think you ever get all the sediment out, but it will sink to the bottom of the tank and not be a problem. The immediate flushing of each faucet and shower right after that is highly recommended also, as there was still a lot of residue in the lines, but be sure to take the head/silt screen off each faucet first otherwise they will clog and you will have more to clean up. Tg

The problem is that you don't DRAIN the tank you FLUSH it out.
For long life and fewer troubles you should keep your heater clear of mineral build-up by FLUSHING NOT DRAINING on a regular schedule. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run until the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) followed by white or yellow grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). This shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Do this monthly to keep it clear. Now flush out your hot water lines on ALL fixtures that are affected . Now pull each aerator and clean the screens. Be sure you put them back together the same way you took them out. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my answer, Tom

I have the same problem. I first turned the water supply off. Then I turned the gas off & drained my tank completely. Be sure to open the vent or release valve. Then I flushed the tank using cold water. I ran the cold water filling the tank about 1/4 of the way and draining over and over again until the water was pretty clear. I refilled the tank and turned the gas back on. The water is better but still looks cloudy especially in the tub. I may just invest in a new tank.

Hi Tom...

How old is the water heater?

What type of water do you have... soft or hard water?

If you have brown water that won't go away, the power flush is the first thing to try.

Another thing to try if the water heater isn't too old would be to replace the sacrificial ANODE ROD... could be all used up and need to be replaced. If this is the case, the brown color is rust and the tank tappings have already started to break down, but replacing the anode rod may still get you some more years from this heater.

See images below of a regular anode rod and an old, used up anode rod. The anode rod is either at a 1-1/8" or 1-1/16" nut at the top of the heater or it could be attached to the cold water nipple (see other image). They also sell a collapsible anode rod for installation in tight spots. It usually takes 2 strong men to remove the nutted type of anode rod.

Let me know what you think, OK?

Mark

Brown water water with odors in your water heater is a sign that you need one or more of the following things
1. a new anode rod
2. your heater is calcified (i.e) the white chunks which in turn cause you to turn up the heater. By doing this you create a "stratification layer" a layer of hot water that is not used and it becomes stagnant.

Solution depending on how old your heater is then you can flush it to get rid of the calcium, remove the hose drain on bottom and install a brass nipple and ball valve, replace the anode rod or get a new heater and do the maintenance every 6 months.


1. turn pilot down to vacation
2. hook up hose to heater
3. leave on the cold water and run the bottom drain until the hot wazter steam goes away or the water comes out cold
4inspect your burner flame to check for excessive sooting
Check t&p to see if it is leaking by
Close bottom drain and turn heater up to 120-130 or just past B on dial