Rust in hot water heater, what can I do?

You're one of the better home owners taking the initiative in flushing your water heater. I don't believe it's rust you're seeing when you flush the tank. It doesn't matter what tax bracket you're in or whether you live on Park Avenue or Skid Row, water coming into any house contains mineral deposits of sorts. Water heaters are a holding tank for hot water and when there is no hot water running the deposits drop to the bottom of the tank and settle there. Because the receiving and discharge water lines are on the top of the tank, those deposits hardly move. They just sit there and keep building up.

Most people don't drain a tank until they have to change the lower heating element and the reason the element burns out is because it is usually buried in the deposit buildup generated over the years. You're doing all you need to do by draining the tank periodically. Adding any kind of rust remover is a waste of hard earned money.

The ideal thing to do when you're draining the tank is to open the drain valve and shoot some compressed air (if you have an air compressor) in through the bottom of the tank. That will really stir up the residue deposits so they will get caught in the flow of water coming out. Otherwise, the water just glides over the top of the debris which means you will always have 2 to 3" of deposits laying on the bottom of the tank. I hope that helps.

Try this. There is a drain at the bottom of the hot water heater (looks just like a hose connection), connect a hose to it and run the hose to a sink or tub or outdoors. Open the valve and look at the water coming out. It may have a bit of rust in it due to settlement in the tank. Fluch it for a few minutes until it runs clear. Let the tank sit for a day and repeat. If you still have rust in the water your tank is shot and should be replaced IMMEDIATELY. A rusty tank is a flood waiting to happen. It may last a month or two or it may last an hour or two. If you don't see the rust, try a tap. If the tap is flushing rust but the tank is clear, you have rusty pipes and should replace them. Either way you are looking at a fairly large expense unless you are a good do-it-yourselfer. A new hot water heater is fairly expensive. If you do have to replace the heater, you should go with a tankless system. They can supply constant hot water and don't have the expense of constantly heating water you aren't using. They last for many times the life of a normal heater and are very energy efficient. They run anywhere from $200 to $2000 depending on volumne of water needed. Good luck.

put rust out salt in the softener, salt tank,

cycle it flush the heater again, after a wk of using rust out salt

this should clear up.

add 1 bag of rust out salt once a month with other salt

A water heater should last longer than 4 yrs, but the salt may be speeding up the aging process. Call a plumber, or just get a new water heater.