You really don’t want to kill a tree. This is more of a do as I say, not as I do post. Anyways, I’m pretty sure that no one actually flushes a water heater, at least until a problem arises. Well, that day arrived a few months ago when the water pressure suddenly dropped. I tried draining the water heater just in case some sediment was clogging the pipes. Turns out, that wasn’t the problem.
So, how would you dispose of 50 gallons of hot water? Living in water-starved California, draining the water straight into the sidewalk gutter would be the sub-optimal answer. So, I thought I should re-use the water for watering the garden. At first, I tested the water on some weeds. Showing no ill effect, I dragged the hose to the base of a cherry tree and allowed the water heater to drain completely.
Turns out, this was not the win/win solution I envisioned because when spring finally rolled around, a certain cherry tree was not sprouting green buds and flowers like the other trees in the garden. Yes, that is how to kill a tree. If you want to flush a water heater and re-use the water, empty it into a clean trash can or storage container and allow the water to cool first.
Alternatively, one could avoid the bother with the trash can and put at least some of the energy that heated the water to good use by first turning off the water heater then taking a nice shower or bath until the water from the hot water tap turns tepid. The hot water one uses will be replaced in the heater’s tank by fresh cold water, lowering the temperature of the water in the tank. Then flush the no-longer-hot water in the tank into ones lawn or shrubbery.