If you have a water softener inline before the heater the soft water will dissolve the sediment and eventually clean it all out. Might take a while, though.
The directions for my water heater say to shut off the power supply, turn off the water, then drain the tank and turn the water back on and let it run through the heater for a few minutes. When the water runs clear you're done. Close the drain, open a hot water faucet in the house to let the air out (you can't leave the element exposed to air or it will burn out), then turn the power supply back on.
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