If there's anything you can do to save you money, wouldn't you do it? There's one task to add to your yearly home maintenance routine; it's this one - draining your water heater. By draining your water heater, you can prevent a premature breakdown of your water heater and can lengthen the life of your water heater and can ensure you have hot water on demand. Read on for instructions to drain your water heater.

Instructions:

1. To start, turn off the gas to your water heater. Then turn off the water supply coming into the water heater as well.
2. Next, turn on the hot water in one of the faucets in your home.
3. Attach a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom of your water heater. Run the hose to a floor drain, to a nearby utility sink or run it outside of your home. The water coming out will be extremely hot, so be careful wherever you run the hose to prevent burning.
4. Then open up the drain valve and begin draining the water from your water heater.
5. When the water drains out, some of the sediment at the bottom may begin coming out as well. When this happens, it may clog the valve. At this point, you'll need to disconnect the hose and use a shop vacuum to suck out as much of the sediment as possible. The sediment at the bottom of the water heater will block the heater core at the base of your water heater, which can cause your water heater to not heat your water properly.
6. When finished removing as much sediment as possible, close the drain valve, turn the water on to the water heater, then turn the gas on as well. Allow the water to fill up in the tank and heat up before trying to use any hot water.

Sediment such as calcium can accumulate in the bottom of the tank from your water. This sediment will eventually block the heater core, which can cause a premature breakdown of your water heater. This could leave you with repair bills, or the need to purchase a new water heater long before you should have to. This can be prevented by draining your water heater. It isn't too difficult to do, and any homeowner that is handy can do this task.

Drain your water heater at least once per year to lengthen the life of your water heater. If you are having issues with your water heater, call a professional plumbing service like Best Choice Plumbing, Inc to have your water heater repaired.