Replace Your Water Heater Anode (Before It Eats Your Tank)

If you haven't replaced this in twelve months, your water heater is corroding from the inside. Twenty bucks. Ten minutes. Here's how.

The anode rod sacrifices itself so your tank doesn't. This one's mine — pulled it last month. See how it's been eaten alive? That's a year of hard water doing its job.

Step one — turn off the water pump and water source. Step two — drain the tank, hot water side, until it runs clear. Step three — fifteen-sixteenths socket wrench on the anode. Loosen. Pull. Replace with new. Wrap the threads with Teflon tape. Tighten.

Done. Refill the tank. Open a faucet to bleed the air. Done.