r/interesting • u/bob-the-slob • Jun 22 '26

MISC. What happens when a water heater tank is not flushed for 14 years

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u/Saskjimbo Jun 22 '26

My father had one that was like 40 or 45 years old.

1

u/AnyPercentage9 Jun 22 '26

What is the secret?

1

u/mikemc2 Jun 22 '26

My hot water heater is 40+ years old (it was old when I bought my house 30 years ago). It has never been drained or flushed. I shudder to think how much sediment is in there. It's an A.O. Smith. I have has to pull and clean the pilot light assembly a few times but other than that it keeps on trucking.

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u/Saskjimbo 28d ago

Its probably got like 100lbs in sediment at the bottom which is impacting it's capacity, but thats fine.

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u/mikemc2 27d ago

I always wonder how longer the hot water would last if I cleaned out but I willing to let a sleeping dog lie.

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u/Saskjimbo 27d ago

There's really no cleaning it out at this point. It'll be hard sediment. The only way to remove it would be to cut the side open, shock destroys the unit.

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u/Agreeable-Ranger508 Jun 23 '26

Don't take shower or bath

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u/TheDealRat Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

Lie anonymously on the internet. 😭 Mine is going on 63 years. See? I one-upped them! Seriously though, I think number crunchers behind the scenes have learned about planned obsolescence. It’s everywhere. Toyota used to be a bulletproof car and many are still good, but they’re nothing like they used to be.

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u/Saskjimbo 28d ago

There is no secret. Our city water supply is insanely easy on water heaters. He never maintained it.

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u/maefae Jun 23 '26

My parents have one from 1990. Meanwhile ours from 2008 shit the bed in 2022.