Why Are You Showering in That?

Some pretty interesting things often come out when you drain a water tank. I once had a customer compare it to the ectoplasm in “Ghost Busters”. I have to agree; it was green and slimy and maybe not dangerous, but certainly not what I would want to shower in. Our family doctor gave me the idea that water tanks can be a health hazard. He said that the sediment can attract some pretty interesting microorganisms, since stagnant water at 100-120 degrees is a darn good science experiment. More than one of my customers has put that at the top of their list for reasons to go tankless. In fact, one of them became deathly ill with a bacterial infection after returning from vacation and taking a shower. Her doctor traced it to the water tank that had been sitting hot long enough to have burned off the chlorine and breed bacteria while she was gone and she ingested it. I am sure this was an extreme case, but not totally out of the ordinary. Tankless systems will not develop sediment, and since they are not kept warm all the time, are less likely to breed bacteria.