Water heater cleaning

[dockmasterdave]

I have an 09 Amerilite. Bought a little over a year ago.
No idea how it was maintained, but very good shape and very little use.
I figured I should check my water heater anode rod,it's a 6 gallon Suburban.
Got it out, along with plenty of white gunk. The rod is the size of the lead in a pencil.
Found the replacement online, and read about the teflon tape. Searched for cleaning discussions, but didn't find any.
What do you recommend for cleaning the tank?

[craig7h]

I also picked up a wire brush that's made to clean the threads.

[SH]

BB_TX wrote:
I just use a cheap water heater flush wand from Camping World.

So do I and IT seems to work fairly well.

[restlesswind]

The only thing I would add is that some folks prefer teflon/plumbers paste rather than tape.
It makes the plug easier to remove next time,but still gives a good seal.

[Old-Biscuit]

I remove drain plug, stand back and turn on water supply letting it blow out of drain plug.
This usually gets a large portion of the crud blown out.

Then I secure the water to trailer, attach a 'wand' to garden hose, shove it in drain hole and blast away pointing up/around then down.

One more time with the water supply turned on to finish up

[BB_TX]

I just use a cheap water heater flush wand from Camping World.