FAQ’s

The answer to this depends on several factors around your home, as well as the climate, season, how long you’ll be away, and whether or not you’ll have someone checking on your home while you’re away. If there is no risk of freezing, you can turn off the water supply and the electricity or gas if you are going to be away for an extended amount of time. You can also turn off the water to the clothes washer, dishwasher, etc. If you are only away for a few days though, the difference in energy use will be minimal. You’ll either be maintaining a full tank of already hot water for a few days, or you’ll have to heat a full tank of cold water up again.

If the temperature could fall below freezing while you’re away, it is likely best to keep the tank on and have someone come to your home each day and turn all of the taps on and off for a few minutes, while also checking around your home for any signs of a leak. Water pipes can freeze and burst, so this is your most important consideration.

Yes, if it uses natural gas or propane. In fact, any appliance that uses these has the potential to produce carbon monoxide. Make sure you have working carbon monoxide alarms near your tank or tank-less water heaters. If anyone in your home has any of the symptoms below without an obvious explanation, get everyone out of the house immediately and call 911:

• Dull headache
• Weakness
• Dizziness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Shortness of breath
• Confusion
• Blurred vision
• Loss of consciousness

Before you start, understand that you will not have hot water for a few hours. The process takes much less time than this, but in the middle of the process you need to wait for the water in the tank to cool a bit.

You will need one or two buckets and a garden hose. You’ll also need to know where to turn off/on the electricity, gas, and water refill pipe for the tank. If your tank is in the basement, you may need a pump to drain the water.

1. If you have an electric tank, turn off the power at the breaker.
2. If you have a natural gas tank, turn off the gas on the pipe leading to the tank with the valve.
3. Turn the thermostat setting to “Off.”
4. Turn off the cold water supply to the tank using the valve on the pipe.
5. Turn on one of the hot water taps in your house at a sink or tub, and leave it on until you’re finished the entire process.
6. Put a basin or bucket under the pressure relief valve drain pipe.
7. Being very careful, because the water will be hot, open the pressure relief valve. Some water should drain. If no water comes out, the pressure relief valve needs to be replaced and you
8. should call us to fix it.
9. Wait a few hours to let the water in tank cool down.
10. Connect a hose to the drain spigot and put the other end of the hose at a lower elevation in a bucket or outdoors.
11. Turn the drain spigot on and let the water drain until the water coming out is perfectly clear. You can turn the spigot off and on again if you need to dump the bucket out.
12. Turn the water coming in to the tank back on and let the water run through the tank and out the hose for a few minutes until the water is clear and no sediment is coming out.
13. Turn the water coming in to the tank off again.
14. When water stops draining from the hose, turn the drain spigot off and disconnect the hose.
15. Close the pressure relief valve.
16. Turn off the hot water tap at your sink or tub.
17. Turn on the cold water that goes in to your hot water tank.
18. When the tank is full, open the pressure relief valve to let off any excess air. LEAVE IT OPEN OR CLOSE IT AGAIN?
19. If you have a gas tank, turn the valve on the natural gas line leading to the tank back on; relight the pilot light and turn the thermostat back up to the selected temperature.
20. If you have an electric tank, turn the electricity back on at the breaker.
21. After about half an hour, turn on a hot water tap slowly to release any air in the line and check to make sure you have hot water.