Home Hot Water Heaters

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Readymom
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Home Hot Water Heaters

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Maintenance of Water Heaters!
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

Originally posted by (crazy lady), PANDEMIC FLU INFORMATION FORUM

[snip] ... A water heater only lasts about 8 years and if you are preparing for the flu you might want to go ahead and purchase a new one now.
It is a good idea to drain your water heater if you anticipate the need to drink it.

At least every 6 months connect a water hose to the faucet at the bottom of the water heater and put other end outside or in a drain.. (Almost all have a faucets on the bottom.)

Turn off the electricity or gas.

Open the hot water tap in your sink, ect. and let the water run until it is cool enough to run through the garden hose.(or leave power source off until water cools)

Open the faucet to the garden hose and completely flush tank.
Turn off all faucets.
Let clean water refill the tank.
Turn power back on.
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Re: Home Hot Water Heaters

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How to Get Water from a Water Heater

Image Hat Tip: to: Energy Conservation News and Resources

How to Get Emergency Drinking Water from a Water Heater
http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Emergency-Drinking-Water-from-a-Water-Heater

A typical home water heater can provide between 30 and 60 or more gallons of clean drinking water during a disaster. Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other power outages may prevent you from having many things, but clean drinking water is not one of them. --- continued at link above, with instructions ---
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Re: Home Hot Water Heaters

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This paragraph was cross posted from an entry in the thread Water Supplies in a Pandemic (And OTHER Emergencies)

Hot Water Heaters
https://survivalcache.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/LDS-Preparedness-Manual.pdf

LDS Preparedness Manual Scroll down to page 110, "Water Treatment -Water Storage"

Some people have plumbed old water heaters or other tanks in line with their cold water supply to add an always rotated source of water. Two cautions are in order: 1) make sure the tanks can handle the pressure (50 psi min.), and 2) if the tanks are in series with the house plumbing, this method is susceptible to contamination of the municipal water system. The system can be fed off the water lines with a shutoff valve (and a second drain line), preventing the water from being contaminated as long as the valve was closed at the time of contamination. Water can only be realistically stored for short-term emergencies, after that some emergency supply of water needs to be developed
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Re: Home Hot Water Heaters

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Emergency Water Storage
http://www.nationalterroralert.com/safewater/

Hidden Water Sources in Your Home

To use the water in your hot-water tank, be sure the electricity or gas is off, and open the drain at the bottom of the tank. Start the water flowing by turning off the water intake valve and turning on a hot-water faucet. Do not turn on the gas or electricity when the tank is empty.
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Re: Home Hot Water Heaters

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Resource Tipsheet: Water Storage
https://extension.colostate.edu/disaster-web-sites/water-storage/

Scroll down the page for:

Emergency Sources of Water

In an emergency, if you have not previously stored water and commercial or public sources of water are not available, drain water from your plumbing system. Unless you are advised that the public water supply has been contaminated and is not safe, open the drain valve at the bottom of the water heater and salvage the water stored in the heater. A typical water heater holds 30-60 gallons of water. Discard the first few gallons if they contain rust or sediment. Let the water heater cool before draining it from the heater so it does not scald you. Turn off the electricity or gas to the water heater to prevent the heater from operating without water. Once water has been drained into clean, sanitized containers, add 5-7 drops of chlorine bleach* per gallon of water, and stir or shake the solution to mix it. Let it set 30 minutes before use.
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Re: Home Hot Water Heaters

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Family Survival Planning

How to Store an Emergency Water Supply
http://www.family-survival-planning.com/emergency-water-supply.html

Where is there already water in your home?

If an earthquake or other catastrophe happened right now, before you've had a chance to acquire your emergency water supply, where could you find some?

The hot-water heater is the first place to go. There is clean, drinkable water there. Depending on the size of your water heater, there should be 20-50 gallons. The trick is to get it out. Have a bucket handy and put it under the drain faucet. Then open a water faucet in a sink nearby to release the pressure and cause the water to flow.

:!: A word of caution: Before using the water from your water heater, it is imperative that you switch off the gas or electricity that heats the water. Leaving the heating part on while the water heater is empty could cause an explosion or burn out the elements, destroying your water heater. Don't turn on the water heater again until water services have been restored and the water heater is refilled.
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Re: Home Hot Water Heaters

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Use caution when utilizing your hot water heater for drinking/consumption. Your hot water heater only heats to 120 to 130F, and this is NOT hot enough to kill a virus.
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Read this:

families.com
https://www.families.com/germ-laundering

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in order to be effective in killing germs laundry (linens) needs to be processed at a minimum of 160 degrees Fahrenheit for at least twenty-five minutes. I don't know about you but my water heater is set to not get hotter than 120 for safety reasons.
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Consider additional purification, as necessary.
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Re: Home Hot Water Heaters

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Survival Water From Your Water Heater
https://www.askaprepper.com/survival-water-from-your-hot-water-heater/

(SNIP) ... most of us have a number of water supplies readily available, within walking distance of our homes. We also have clean water in our homes, ready for our use. All we have to do is find a way to access it.

The water heater in most homes consists of a 30 to 50 gallon tank, with a heating element inside. This tank is always full, even though you may not have water flowing through your home’s pipes. ---CONTINUED---
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