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The gas was shut off at the property I am moving into and I wasn't able to get the service turned on without someone being there to let the gas company in.
All other utilities have remained on the entire time.
My question is will I need the water heater drained and flushed with bleach to kill bacteria before putting it back into use or should it be good to go? The local C/D members seemed to think it should be fine as is.
I do it all the time and have not had problems... but I would pull the sacrificial rod and see what condition it is in - this would be a good time for that.
If it is city chlorinated water, it should be fine. The tank is sealed - just like bottled water you buy from the store!
The concern would be if water pressure was lost and water "back flowed" into your water pipes. For example you might spray pesticides on a lawn, then lose water pressure (water turned off or whatever), the water can siphon (run backwards) through a lawn sprinkler or water hose into the house water pipe system.
Modern (to code) plumbing uses "back flow preventers" as well as "anti-siphon" gizmos to prevent that from happening.
In any case, run the hot water until there is hot water coming out of the faucet. Then smell it. If bacteria is present, it will stink to high heaven! To be extra safe, run the cold water for a minute and only use cold water for cooking/drinking.
I have a large home with two separate systems, with a water heater at each end of the house. I rarely use one end of the home, so I shut off the gas to the W/H at one end for well over a year. I eventually turned the gas back on and lite the fire, but still rarely use hot water at that end of the home. Have never experienced a problem.
I wouldn't spend any time worrying about your situation...
Ask any snowbird that leaves for months at a time every year. Shouldn't be a problem.
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