2 month sitting water heater, smells....?

[dsfii]

Hope someone can give me direction..

Have a 40 Gal Brandford & White Gas water heater in my house that I just moved into. Last people to live here moved out about 2 months ago so it has been on almost high sitting for about 2 mons...

When we moved in we noticed this akward smell when we used hot water, not a really bad smell... at first thought it was old soap scum in the tub that needed cleaned out... Turns out it comes from every faucet w/ hot water...

Today I set out to drain it empty and flush. I shut off the gas, closed the water inlet and opened the drain at the bottom and opened a kitchen faucets hot side for pressure relief. It drained out slow,, a trickle almost... Looked clear too. I then pulled on that upper pressure valve and when I did that it came out much faster....

After emptying to the best of my knowledge, I let it refill,, ran all the faucets in the house on hot to clear w/ cold water... Then I had to leave so I haven't got to test it yet...

Does anyone have any insight on this? Do you think the flush will repair the problem?

Thanks for any help

[majakdragon]

dsfii, Welcome to the DIY Forums.
I have included a link at the bottom of this post on the proper way to drain and flush a water heater.
Water sitting for an extended amount of time turns stagnant. Chemical build-up (calcium and such) also will increase any smell you may be experiencing. Draining AND flushing should help the situation. Actually, this should be done at least once a year to prolong the tank life. The flushing helps remove any build-up on the bottom of the tank which will also decrease the efficiency of the heater thus costing you money in fuel bills.
Good luck and reply back with any questions.

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=134483
Click on the above link for instructions.