Charlie: Beau in New Caney. He has a question here. He says, how do I drain gas water heater that’s in the attic? It’s two and a half years old.
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Tom: I don’t know. I wouldn’t drain it. People want to try to drain these things. If you’re gonna drain a water heater. I’m going to throw this out first then we can get into the process. If you’re gonna drain a water heater to keep the sediment down, you have to do it in our climate if you don’t have a water softener every three to six months. He’s already two and a half years into it. A lot of that stuff is not coming out. I wouldn’t start doing that right now.
But you have a drain spigot at the bottom. Most of them are plastic today. You put a hose on there and you gotta’ put it out somewhere and then you have to open that thing up and drain it. That’s how you do it. There should be a valve at the top.
Charlie: And wait, and wait. It doesn’t drain real quick.
Tom: Oh yeah it goes slow and if you’re gonna do it, disconnect the water at the top of the tank so air can go in and the water will go out a little quicker but it still takes a long time and it’s not worth the effort to do. If you really want a water softener or excuse me, a water heater to last a long time, I’ve got one that’s 21 years old at my house now. I’ve never drained it but I’ve always had a water softener on the house. If you’re really concerned about those things, invest in a water softener. Don’t invest your time into doing things that aren’t going to work.