For several months at least, I have been cleaning the aerators on my faucets and finding much white particles, very white. They are small but they obstruct the flow. I have determined that they are only in the hot water by running the hot water through a strainer at a sink without an aerator. They are very fragile and can be broken up with your fingers. I assume they are coming out of the electric hot water heater (80 gal tank, about 9 years old) since they are not on the cold side. I'm not sure they are a problem but would like to anticipate if they can cause a problem.

Answer is appreciated.

Hey Joe, I am guessing you don't flush out that tank very often. You should drain it via the tap at the bottom with the main feed line still open to the tank. You are getting lime and scale build up and it breaks loose and plugs you aerator. Your sacrificial rod on the top of the tank may also be contibuting to the debris. The rod is actually designed to sacrifice itself and dissolve rather than your tank. You probably should remove the rod with a good socket and breaker arm but try not to spin the tank.

If you'da said you were losing hot water after a few minutes have supected a bad dip tube.
However you have calcium carbinate if I ever heard of it. You need to flush your heatrer out. For long life and fewer troubles you should keep your heater clear of mineral build-up by flushing on a regular schedule. Let me show you how. 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 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