Anything I can pour into water heater that will dissolve deposits?

[beavith]

replace it. period.

you also have a Mg anode rod in it to contend with. once that is gone, you get electrolytic corrosion that makes a blowout a matter of time. its not a question of "if". its a matter of "when."

as far as softening goes, (the quality of the rest of the pipes in your house (especially the hot water pipes) can be just as suspect as your hot water heater) it's cheap insurance. it preserves your pipes and your hot water tank. and it doesn't use that much water on recharge. it exchanges out Ca, Mg, preferentially, and Fe and Mn if you add a calcium chloride pretreatment tank.

they are sized based on how much water you use and how much and what kind of hardness you have. adding on a softener now can bring your pipes back over time, if they've narrowed from deposits.

you'll find that your soaps do a MUCH better job cleaning. at a much lower usage rate.

no. i don't work for culligan or kinetico. i lived with unbelievably hard water in IN and CT before i went the softened water route here in NH. there's no going back.....

[Doc]

I installed new maybe 5 - 6 months ago. I figure I should drain & clean it out at least twice a year, lots of minerals in the water around here - central Florida. The "stuff" in the bottom of the tank seems to build up quick. I used to do the old one maybe every year and a half or so but that seemed like too long an interval. I got about 19 years out of it.

[Doc]

Not at all the case, it's about 6 months old, I'm just looking at preventative maintenance. On the old one that was replaced, I used to drain it with a hose, then remove the bottom element, go through the hole and break up the mineral buildup inside with a long stiff wire, suck the stuff out with a wet/dry vac, adding more water as I went with curved piece of automotive hose with the end cut at an angle and duct-taped to the end of the vac - this allowed me to get all around inside the tank. Then flushed it out again and then reinstalled the bottom element.

I was just wondering if there was anything I could use to chemically break up the sediment without manually going in there and breaking it up as described above, maybe hitting when the sediment buildup wasn't as advanced.

[N:dlzc D:aol T:com (dlzc)]

...

And how.

...

Some sales blurb on softeners: David A. Smith

[Andy Asberry]

Whirlpool recommends: turn the power off; close both valves; disconnect the hot water pipe; drain a little more than a gallon of water; pour one gallon of cider vinegar into the hot water fitting; let it set for 6 hours; drain/refill/flush 3 times; put back in service.

--Andy Asberry--

------Texas-----

[Kelly Knight]

replying to do_see, Kelly Knight wrote: Muriatic acid is perfectly safe if used properly. Do not use it in your house the fumes will overwhelm anybody around. Turn the electric & water to the tank. If gas shut off gas & disconnect at the union. If electric turn off power disconnect the 3 wires usually in a cover plate on top and any other electric or gas connectors. Take the tank outside. I use an appliance dolly. If there are hot and cold water shutoff and unions take them apart before you try to move it. Most should if installed correctly. If cut off etc... To break it free. Once outside pour about 8 ounces of muriatic in the fill tube.wearing rubber gloves safety glasses face shield maybe a shop apron. The acid will cause a reaction like a volcano depending on how bad it is . keep a garden hose ready to spray down the overflow on the tank. Always start this in small increments of acid until it starts foaming out of the tank fill tube or drain. The anode tube will need replacing which costs a few bucks available just about anywhere. The elements will likely need replacing and difficult to get out if they're bent . there is a tool specifically made just to remove the electric heating elements. Flush with water and vinegar solution a few times and you should be good to go. Sounds like a lot but your bigges6cost is time this shouldn't cost more than 25 to 50 bucks after you reinstall anything that had to be cut like pc which is very cheap. You just saved yourself around$500. Without paying a plumber which could easily cost 2- $500. More.