Hot water tank causing rusty water advice?

[Escaron]

I recently noticed the water coming out of my hot water tank has taken on an orange/dirty colour so decided to do some maintenance on the hot water tank. It’s a 7 year old Bradford White. I moved into the home about a year ago so can’t speak to maintenance form the previous owner but only recently noticed the water colour.

Below is what I’ve tried so far over the span of 2 weeks, the water has kept the same discolouration - some improvement but not clear like when I compare to water out of my cold water tap. It’s certainly not as bad as when is started but still there.

I’m at a loss as to what to try next, do I have any other options or is next step to replace the tank?? Appreciate any advice. Thanks!

1. I flushed the tank two weekends in a row now trying to get the water coming out to be as clear as possible. Tank continues to have small particulate flowing out when I flush but nothing I would consider excessive (probably rust as it was attracted to a magnet when I ran one through the water)
   
   
2. I replaced the anode with a new one, the previous anode was completely gone to the core (probably never replaced before). Water tank is 7 years old and I live in a very hard water area + have a water softener. I’m suspecting the tank has probably started rusting inside but not sure how bad and whether I can still get use out of it with a more in-depth cleaning?
   
   
3. There are no leaks or dripping water around the tank that I can tell. There is some yellowing/rust around the burner area but I take that to be normal due to condensation. It does not seem excessive.
   
   
4. As a last ditch effort I bought an endoscopic camera to see what’s going on in the tank itself. Below are the best pictures I could produce given the conditions (fed through the hot water inlet when tank was empty)

first 2 pictures are where tank walls meets bottom - you can see sediment that looks like small rust particles.... third picture is of the wall near the top of the tank where hot water would usually sit, there’s lots of buildup like this at the top, any idea what this is? Is this rust or something else and is this what’s causing my water discoloration? I suspect that it must be it as I cannot guess what else it could be given I’ve flushed the tank twice now. Can anything be done to clean this off?

 

[Bannerman]

Is there any odour?

What is the hot temperature setting?

As water heater temperature settings are often 125 degrees or less, that environment can become an incubator for bacteria. Suggest raising the temperature setting temporarily to ~ 160F for 2-3 hours to sanitize the interior of the tank. The temperature near the tank bottom will be cooler but above 140 will be sufficient to sanitize the entire tank interior. After the tank temperature has remained consistent, allow the extra hot water to flow to each faucet for several minutes to also sanitize the hot plumbing lines throughout the home.

Caution needs to be observed particularly if there are children or elderly present as the extreme water temperature will rapidly scald.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Escaron]

Is there any odour?

What is the hot temperature setting?

As water heater temperature settings are often 125 degrees or less, that environment can become an incubator for bacteria. Suggest raising the temperature setting temporarily to ~ 160F for 2-3 hours to sanitize the interior of the tank. The temperature near the tank bottom will be cooler but above 140 will be sufficient to sanitize the entire tank interior. After the tank temperature has remained consistent, allow the extra hot water to flow to each faucet for several minutes to also sanitize the hot plumbing lines throughout the home.

Caution needs to be observed particularly if there are children or elderly present as the extreme water temperature will rapidly scald.

No odour or taste in the water from what I can tell. Just slight discoloration. I uploaded 2 pictures to hopefully show the color. The 1st picture - the upper glass is hot water from the tap and lower is cold, hopefully you can see there's a slight yellow/brown tinge to the hot water glass - probably harder to discern in photos than in person. Likewise in the 2nd photo, hot water is on the left, cold water on the right.

The hot temperature setting on the tank is at about the midpoint, I'm getting around 135F at the tap so guessing it's about 140F in the tank.

I don't mind cleaning/sanitizing the tank, but I would like to first understand if it's bacteria causing the colour or rust? If it's rust I'm leaning towards simply replacing the tank for peace of mind as it's probably on it's way out anyways. If it's bacteria or some sort of lime scale build up that can be washed out then I will try to clean it with bleach or vinegar solution.

If you look at my original post, any ideas what that build up is in picture #3? It's all over the tank and almost certainly coloring my water, is that rust or something that can be cleaned/sanitized away?

Thanks!

PS. I am considering picking up a DYI home water test kit from home depot just to see what is causing the color, but I'm pretty sure it's rust because this is what the water looks like when I flushed the tank only darker + I can see the sediment at the bottom is iron (reacts to a magnet). If it was bacterial I don't think I would be seeing sediment when flushing the tank and in theory the water coming out would be clear as well since the bacteria is in the tank, not the water and should not flush with it.

 

[Dj2]

"I replaced the anode with a new one, the previous anode was completely gone to the core"

- There is a good possibility that there will be a leak in the future. Start putting money aside for a new WH.