How to remove scale from water heater

Friends who have water heaters installed at home will find that a lot of scale has accumulated in their water heaters at some point. They want to remove it, but they don’t know what method to use or how to proceed. So in the face of this distressing phenomenon encountered by everyone, let us analyze and introduce in detail how to remove the scale accumulated in the water heater.

1. Electric water heater

Electric water heaters are professional equipment and it is best to ask professionals to clean them. If you clean them yourself, you can do a minor cleaning every six months. The cleaning steps are not complicated and you can do it yourself. But be sure to pay attention to safety.

First, unplug the power socket. It is best to turn off the main power in the house and close the water inlet and outlet valves.

Then, unscrew the hot water inlet nut and block the hot water inlet with your hand (make sure there is no hot water in the water heater to prevent scalding) to prevent water from flowing out of the water heater. At the same time, unscrew the nut on the cold water outlet, connect a hose (a shower pipe will do) and drain the water until no water flows out of the cold water outlet. For a 50L water heater, draining takes about 1 hour.

Finally: remove the hose connected to the cold water outlet, connect one end of the hose to the hot water outlet and the other end to the faucet, open the faucet to fill with water for 1 minute, and block the cold water outlet, let the cold water stay in the inner tank for a while, then open the cold water outlet to drain, repeat several times until the discharged water is clean. Tighten the nuts on the cold water inlet and hot water inlet, open the triangle valve, and turn on the hot water from the water heater faucet. After the water flows out, close it.

2. Gas water heater: There is actually a heating tube in the gas water heater. When cleaning, you only need to remove the water heater, pour the detergent into the water inlet and keep it for a while. Commonly used cleaning agents can be mixed with white vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio. In fact, diluted toilet cleaner is also effective. There are also special cleaning agents sold in supermarkets.

The above is about the cleaning method of household water heaters. After all, water heaters are relatively large items. If we fail to clean them according to the correct methods and steps, the water heater may break down or we may get injured in the process, so we still need to pay attention to these steps.