drain or flush water heater?

Hi guys-

Since moving into my new house 3 yrs ago I haven't done any maintenance on my gas water heater. I've read abut both flushing and draining the heater. Some have said that you only need to drain if you are moving the heater and that flushing is enough for routine cleaning. Others seem to think that draining the tank is the only way to really clean the heater. What do you recommend? I haven't had any problems and just want to do good preventive maintenance. Thanks.

Connect a hose to the drain and open it up. That should do a pretty good job on sediment.

thanks! i appreciate it.