Be honest, when was the last time you drained and flushed your hot water tank/heater? Last year? 5 years ago? Never?!?! Did you even know that was something you should be doing semi-regularly? Well I can assure you that not only is it something you SHOULD be doing, it’s something you should be doing every year!

Why Should I Drain my Water Heater?

Most homeowners I talk to have never drained and flushed their water heater. Understandable I suppose, it’s not something you learn about in school so if you never knew you were supposed to, why would you? Flushing your water tank is really simple and it helps prolong the life of the tank. Over time, lime, calcium, and other minerals in your water can create deposits in the tank. (Especially if you have hard water) Periodically draining and flushing your water tank helps loosen sediments that build up and cause problems with the heating elements. Over time, deposits and corrosion can shorten the life of the tank. There’s never a good time to not have hot water in your home! Now’s the time to add it to your to-do list! Here’s how to do it!

Step #1: Turn off the Power & Supply Valve

Either shut off the gas at the shutoff valve (Typically a valve connected to a yellow flex gas line running to the tank), or unplug the tank if it’s an electric tank. (You can also turn off the breaker to the water heater if you’re uncomfortable unplugging or unsure.)

Also close the cold water supply line valve. There’s typically a valve at the top of the tank. (If you’re not sure, you can CAREFULLY touch your hand on the pipes at the top to see which one is warm and which is cold. Don’t burn yourself! You want to shut off the cold supply line.) If you don’t have a valve there, shut the water off at the closest available shutoff OR you can shut off the main valve to the house if you need to.

Step #2: Connect a Hose to the Drain Valve

If you don’t have an already established drain line, connect a garden hose to the drain outlet on the bottom of the tank. REMEMBER THAT THE WATER IN THE TANK IS HOT! Either let the tank sit idle for a few hours, or carefully direct the hose outside or into your sump pump if you have one. Make sure the hose is directed to a safe place where no children or pets can be scalded by hot water.

Step #3:  Open the Drain Valve

Open the drain valve and allow all the water in the tank to run out. Depending on the size of the tank, this can take 15-20 minutes to drain. You’ll typically need a flat head screwdriver to open the valve.

Step #4: Turn the Water Back On

Once the water stops running from the hose, turn the water back on. You’ll want to allow the tank to flush directly out the hose for a few minutes. After that, I recommend you close the drain valve and allow the tank to fill at least halfway or so. Allow the tank to fill for 10-12 minutes.

Step #5: Shut Off the Water Again and Repeat Flush

Basically you’re going to do the same thing again. Shut off the water supply and open the drain valve. You’ve just flushed the tank to get the water to stir up any loose sediment and get it to be able to drain from the tank. Allow all the water to run from the tank again.

Before you turn the water back I recommend you also check the Anode Rod.

What is The Anode Rod?

Most homeowners I talk to don’t know what an anode rod is let alone know that it’s something that needs to be maintained with your hot water heater. The Anode Rod is a piece of sacrificial metal (usually magnesium or aluminum) that is located within your water heater. It attracts the corrosive elements of your water like calcium away from the internal components of the tank and your tank walls.

Changing your anode rod should be done every few years to make sure the life of your water heater isn’t shortened prematurely because of corrosion.

Step #6: Check or Replace the Anode Rod

The anode rod is mounted to the top of the tank and is threaded in place within the tank. Use a socket wrench or pliers to unthread the rod and check it for wear. If it is badly corroded or completely disintegrated, you need to replace it. Do a quick google search to find a replacement rod for your particular brand of water heater.

Once you reinstall the new anode rod…

Step #7: Reconnect the Heater

Make sure all valves and fittings are tightened and then turn the water supply valve back on for the tank allowing it to fill once again. Re-open the gas valve and follow all safety instructions to re-ignite the heater if you have a gas tank. CAUTION: Failure to follow ignition instructions can cause injury or death. Carefully follow all instructions. 

If you have an electric heater, plug it back in or turn the breaker back on to the unit.

How Do I Know if it’s Time to Replace My Water Heater?

There are several warning signs that your water heater might be on the outs! Here are a few things to look out for. Some issues can be repaired with new parts, while other issues may indicate the need for a new heater. Here’s what to look out for.

1.) Over 10 Years Old

If your water tank is over 10 years old, it might be time for a replacement. If you’re not having problems yet there’s no need to swap it right away, BUT you should probably budget for a new one because you’ll inevitably need one in the next couple years. Electric tanks typically have a little longer life span but both can be shortened by hard water.

2.) Leaking

If your tank is leaking, that’s a big sign that it needs replacing. It often happens on older tanks where corrosion and rust are problems. Sometimes it can be the result of keeping the temperature on the tank set too high or a faulty pressure relief valve. Over time that increased pressure can cause wear on the components.

A leaking tank can be extremely dangerous if not addressed as a leak indicates an issue with the integrity of the tank that can lead to a tank explosion! BAD NEWS BEARS!

3.) Discolored or Cold Water

If you’re getting rusty colored water or cold water after a short period of time, that could be an indication that your water heater needs attention. Especially with the latter. Old houses can have old galvanized pipes which corrode a lot so it may not be indicative of a faulty tank BUT if you’re noticing that AND a change in water temperature, you’re likely having an issue with the tank.

It could be that a heating element needs replacing because it has corroded. OR you may need to replace the tank itself. In either case, a closer inspection is warranted to find the problem.

Installing a New Water Heater

WARNING: Installing a new water heater carries the risk of electrical shock and/or exposure to gas fumes/vapors and can carry the risk of explosion if not done correctly. 

Installing a new water heater isn’t a job for the faint of heart and can be a little dangerous IF you don’t know what you’re doing. It is a task that a handy homeowner can accomplish on their own BUT as always it’s something that needs to be done carefully and correctly. If there are any doubts about your ability to do it, I’d recommend that you leave it to a professional.

Need to Replace an Electric Water Heater?

Check out the New High-Efficiency Rheem ProTerra Hydrbid Electric Water Heater with Leak Guard. 

The Rheem ProTerra Hybrid Electric Water Heater is 4x more efficient than a standard electric water heater, and has an automatic water shut-off in the event of a leak to provide additional peace of mind. You can also control the settings of your water heater directly from your mobile device for added flexibility and is installed just like a standard electric water heater.

If you enjoyed this content, check out some of these other DIY home maintenance projects.

It’s Time to Change Your Home’s Air Filters!

How to Install a Home Water Filtration System

Summertime means cranking that air conditioning in the house to cool it down which can really impact your home’s energy consumption. Today I’m here to share a few things that you can do around your home to help make your space more comfortable and energy efficient, which reduces your impact on the environment.

So let’s get started!

#1: Replace Your Indoor and Outdoor Light Bulbs with LED’s

Replacing your light bulbs is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to make your home more energy efficient. Typical CFL or older
incandescent bulbs use anywhere from 40w-100w a piece and the newer LED equivalents typically range from 10-20w for the same light output.
They’re a little more expensive on the front end, but their bulb life is exponentially longer and the cost savings on your energy bill adds up quickly.

Many people may think to replace their interior bulbs. Also, consider replacing exterior landscape bulbs and motion lights. It’s not uncommon for exterior bulbs to be 150w so replacing them can add up to
significant savings over time.

#2: Inspect Your Attic Insulation and Replace it if Necessary

One specific area to consider is your attic. If you’re like me, it’s not an area you particularly like to work in. Still, it’s a vital part of keeping your home as efficient as possible. It keeps heat in during the winter, but it also helps keep the heat of your roof from radiating into your living space in the summer.

Go into your attic and make sure that insulation coats the entire living space. It may be blown in, in batt form, or a combination of the two. If your insulation is sporadic, very thin, or has been infested with critters, consider having it replaced or adding additional insulation on top.

#3: Update Your Old Thermostat to a New Smart Thermostat

Upgrading your HVAC themostat provides
another environmentally friendly tool in saving energy. A programmable thermostat allows you to set back your home’s temperature when you’re away, such as at work for the day or on a lengthy vacation. For instance, you can program up to 4 schedules a day, 7 days a week. Smart versions like the Trane Connected Thermostat – XL 824 or XL1050 – expand those capabilities and give you the ability to adjust settings from anywhere when preferences or plans change.

In fact, these thermostats are so advanced, they also come with other key features like Wi-Fi connection, built-in
Nexia Bridge (which gives you the flexibility to remotely monitor and control over other smart home devices such as your home’s lights, locks, and even your garage).

#4: Clean Your HVAC Condenser and Change Your Air Filters

One of the easiest ways to make sure your HVAC system is functioning properly and not overworking is to connect with your local HVAC technician for a seasonal maintenance. Trane provides an awesome certified contractor locator to help you find a company nearby to come evaluate your system. Another option is to follow these basic steps to cleaning the outside condenser and change the air filter inside. 

1.) To clean your condenser coil, first make sure power is shut off to the unit by turning off the power at the disconnect near the unit. 2.) Use a shop vac with a soft bristle attachment to vacuum any loose material or debris that may be inhibiting the cooling coils from working properly. 3.) Use a foaming condenser cleaning product to spray all over the condenser and let it soak for about 10 minutes. 4.) Then rinse the coil with clear low pressure water to remove remaining dirt and debirs. 5.) After that, you’re good to turn the power back on. 

You should do this about once a year to make sure your condenser is clean and working properly. Also, while you’re at it, make sure that there are no plants or obstructions within about 12” all around the unit that make it hard for the unit to breathe properly. If there are, make sure to trim it back. Changing your filter is simple. Just find your air intake for your unit and replace it with the proper size filter. You can find the size you need written right on the side of the previous filter. I recommend you do this around every 3-6 months. 

#5: Replace Old Single Pane Windows with New Energy Star Rated Options

Adding replacement windows or updating windows around your home during a remodel project is a great way to improve the overall energy efficiency of your home. Old single pane windows allow the heat of the sun’s rays to radiate into the home. This can significantly raise the interior temperature which means your A/C system needs to work harder to cool the home.

New double paned windows have an insulating gas between the panes which allows for less heat energy transfer into the home and thus are much more energy efficient. A local window expert can help you decide on what types of windows are right for your home.

Hopefully these tips help give you some ideas to get your home’s energy consumption under control. Not only will it help save you money, but it can help lessen your environmental impact. If you are considering making some energy efficient improvements, I recommend looking at your local utility company’s website. Oftentimes, you can find rebates for energy efficient upgrades to your home that can help you offset those initial costs. Your local and state governments may also have some incentives to take advantage of. All it takes is a little research. 

I’d like to thank the Trane team for sending over the XL824 connected thermostat I installed in the video and for making this project possible. If you’d like some more information on additional energy efficient upgrades you can do around your home, check out Trane’s website.

Thank you, for watching and if it’s your first time visiting the channel, please hit that subscribe button and hit that notification bell so you never miss out on any of the new content I put out. And as always, I encourage you to leave me a comment
down below and let me know what energy improvements you plan on tackling down the road.

Thanks so much for watching and I’ll see you next time.

Top 5 DIY Ways to Get Rid of Ants

5 DIY Electrical Tools Every Homeowner Should Own

In this project I’m going to show you how to monitor your home’s energy usage by installing a Sense Home Energy Monitoring Device that you can monitor right from your phone or tablet. This device allows you to view your home’s energy usage in real-time on your phone. With that information you can determine which areas of your home to focus on improving.

Disclosure: This video and article contains an unpaid product integration by Sense. All views and opinions expressed herein are my own.

One of the things I’m very passionate about is finding ways to make my home more energy efficient. A few months ago I learned about a product called Sense. Sense is an energy monitoring device that installs into your breaker panel and allows you to see how much power each device in your home uses. You can use that information to make more energy efficient improvements to your home. 

Disclaimer:

I’d like to remind you that I am not a licensed electrician. If at any point you are not comfortable tackling this project on your own, please reach out to an electrician that can help you with the installation. This is designed to be a guide to show you how it can be done, but does not replace the expertise or knowledge of a licensed electrician. 

Installing the Device:

The first step to installing this device is unpacking the box and taking a look at all the components. The package contains with a device monitor, an antenna, 2 sensor clips, a power cable, and an optional mounting bracket.

Next you’ll have to get access to your main breaker panel, and shut the power off. Remove the cover panel and have a look at your breaker setup. This device requires that it be wired into a dual pole 220v breaker which is not included in the kit so if you don’t have one available that you can tap into, you’ll have to buy one that matches your panel. If you do need to purchase a breaker, you’ll also have to verify that your breaker panel has space available to install it.

Installing the Antenna

Once you’ve verified you have space available for the install, remove a knock out from the panel box and install the antenna into the hole. From there you can connect the antenna to the device monitor itself. If you don’t have room inside the panel, you can use the optional monitor bracket to install it outside the panel.

Wiring the Device

Install your new breaker if you need to or connect the wiring to your existing breaker. The black and red wires connect to the breaker itself, and the white wire attaches to the neutral bar in your panel.

Connecting the Service Clips

Now this is where things get dangerous if you’re not familiar with your panel box. You’ll need to connect the current sensor clips around the service legs coming into your panel. These 2 wires ARE ALWAYS LIVE even if your panel box is shut off. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TOUCH THEM. In my case, these wires are hidden underneath the meter on the panel which is secured by the power company with a lock which I didn’t have a key for. So I called my local power company and asked them to come out and shut off the power and remove the lock so that I could access those wires. Since they shut the power service off to the house, there was no danger of me being shocked when I connected the clips. Once I had them installed, they replaced the meter and turned the power back on.

Once I had the wiring all connected, I removed the necessary knockouts on the cover of my breaker panel, reinstalled it, and turned the main power back on at the breaker. From there, the device fires up and starts it’s process.

Download and Set Up the App

Next I downloaded the Sense App on my phone, and began the setup process. It connects via WiFi and prompts you to setup your device. Once logged in, it takes a couple days to calibrate and then it starts the process of identifying devices around your home.

Identifying Devices

The device shows exact energy usage in real-time and starts to identify different devices around your home automatically. It has a smart learning algorithm that can determine which devices are which and starts to label them around your home. You can verify or change the name of the device right in the app. As more homes connect to the app, it continues to learn and define new devices.

You can go around and flip devices on and off and see the effect on your energy usage in real-time. And you can set goals with notifications to keep your energy consumption down, see which devices are using the highest percentage of power, get pretty accurate estimates on your energy bills by inputting your typical costs. They also offer a solar option which will tell you how much energy your solar panels are producing and how much they are offsetting your energy bill if you have solar panels.

Review

Overall, this is a really cool device. It’s helped me realize how inefficient my home is when it comes to heating and air conditioning. I didn’t realize how many hours those devices run on a daily basis which drastically affects my utility bill. Moving forward I’ll be taking that information to continue to invest in ways to offset that energy usage.

I think a device like this can definitely be useful for someone like myself who owns an older, fixer upper that is looking to improve its efficiency. The Sense device can help tell you where your energy and thus where your money is going. This can help you prioritize where you focus your remodel efforts. And over time, this could save you a lot of money. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this project. I’d like to thank the Sense team for sending over this device and allowing me to test it out. 

Check out some of my other home energy & electrical tutorials:

10 DIY Ways to Warm Your Home and Lower Your Heat Bill

How to Install a Post Lamp

I’ll be installing the Maximus Floodlight Camera  by Kuna in this tutorial. I prefer the look and functionality of the Maximus lights compared to other camera lights on the market. The one thing I would suggest when installing smarter home products is that you try to stick to one or a few specific brands so as to not inundate yourself with smart home apps.

Step #1: Removing the Existing Light

First, make sure the power to the breaker is shut off that powers the motion light you are working on.

Next, remove the screw holding the light to the junction box. You can now pull the light from the box to expose the wiring. I recommend using a voltage tester to make sure the power is off to the light before touching the wiring. If there is voltage present, the voltage tester will beep.

Now you can disconnect the wiring. You should see a black hot wire, a white neutral, and a green ground wire. Depending on how old you home is, the coloring could differ. Finally, unscrew the mounting bracket for the light from the box.

Step #2: Unpack the New Light

Now, unpack your new light from its box and look through your components. This light comes with a mounting bracket, a mounting plate, the lamp head, and hardware.

Detach the mounting plate from the head lamp on the new light by releasing the locking switch on the mounting plate.

Step #3: Attach the Mounting Bracket and Wiring

To begin installing the new light, screw in the new mounting bracket to the junction box.

With the mounting bracket fastened, secure the wiring from the mounting plate to the wires in the junction box using the included wire nuts. Make sure to connect them black to black, white to white.For this light, there is no visible ground wire. The ground screw mounts through the center of the mounting plate and grounds the fixture to the grounded box.

Step #4: Fasten the Mounting Plate and Head Lamp

Next mount the mounting plate to the mounting bracket with the screw in the center paying close attention to the area marker “up” on the mounting plate. In this case I’m mounting the light under an eave so “up” faces out towards me.

Once the plate is installed, attach the lamp head to the plate my inserting the metal nubs into the slots and turning the lamp. And then lock the locking switch.

Finally, turn the breaker power back on at the breaker.

Step #5: Connect and Customize Your Light

From here, download the Kuna app for your light and connect it to your wifi account. You can add a bunch of different cameras, adjust the sensitivity of the motion detector, adjust the brightness of the light and when it turns on and off. You can even add or adjust the sound that plays when motion is detected.

The footage automatically records to your phone when it detects motion and alerts you with a notification if you want it to.

Being able to monitor your home from anywhere really gives you a lot of peace of mind. Adding a little security that you can monitor from your phone has never been easier or more affordable.

If you liked this project, check out some of these other smart home improvement projects:

Installing a Keyless Entry Lock System

Installing a Smart Thermostat

I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope you learned something new! If you did like this guide or find it helpful, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/mrfixit.