What is causing the hot water to be reddish if you installed a new gas hot water heater in 2004?

Answer 1

Insofar as the unit is only two years old, it is not likely the rust or sediment is coming from the corroding interior of your unit. It's getting in there from the cold-water feed. If your house is supplied by old iron pipes, that could be the source. Or if your house is supplied by its own well water, the depth of your well may be inadequate and you're picking up water with high iron content. If you have municipal water, maintenance workers might have disturbed the lines upstream and loosed some debris and sediment that wound up in your tank. When you experience a problem, ask your neighbors whether they're also having trouble. It's always a good idea to drain a few gallons out of the tank every six months or so. I also check the pressure relief valve at that time. Some people also recommend checking the anode bar. That's in there to prevent the inside of the tank from corroding; the bar corrodes instead. Not sure that it could be depleted so soon. But if your water company isn't good about maintaining adequate pH and whatnot, perhaps it might be. But for a unit that new, I suspect an outside culprit. sounds like some rust in either the pipes or water heater...i would let the water run awhile to clear it up...if that doesn't clear it up contact a plumber or you local water dept.