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Author:
Anonymous User
My house is 10 years old and we are noticing brownish/blackish water coming from our faucets. This started in an upstairs bathroom which was not used very often. It is now used everyday and the problem seems to be getting worse. We are also seeing this in the kitchen now (downstairs). Any idea what this is or how to fix it?
Thanks.
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Author:
Deb (ID)
You need to do a little more investigating to narrow things down a bit for us. Has anything been done to the water system at all? Has it been shut down? What is your water source? Is this both the hot and cold? What kind of water line material do you have? Many plumbing problems are not readily apparent and take some "investigation" and knowledge of how everything works.
Deb
The Pipewench
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Author:
Anonymous User
Nothing has been done to the water system and it has not been shutdown. Our water comes from the city (not a well if that is what you're asking) and it is only with the hot water. I believe we have copper pipes. Is there an easy way to flush or clean out the pipes?
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Author:
packy (MA)
sorry to say this, but it sounds like new water heater time.
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Author:
Deb (ID)
Well, that narrows it down a whole bunch! How old is your water heater? There are things inside water heaters that can deteriorate and come out with the hot water. Sometimes they are replaceable, sometimes not. Old galvanized piping can also cause problems--eventually it will reach the "rust point" where the pipe rusts, everytime you turn on the water, you get that little bit of residual water that sat in the piping and is "dirty". The galvanized can be anywhere, but check the water heater nipples first. Unions can also sometimes get rather "gunked up" with "stuff". It is not a good idea to assume that it is the water heater itself because just the hot water is affected and replace it without checking out other possible causes, unless it is old and getting to the end of its life.
Deb
The Pipewench
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Author:
Anonymous User
The water heater is 10 years old.
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Author:
GSchreiber, CWS VI (MN)
On City Water another possibility is that the City did a poor flushing job on their water mains and that sediment was drawn into your water heater or it was drawn in while they were flushing the mains. The first thing I would do if I were you is flush the water heater.
This is not just running a hot water faucet until the water runs cold or clear. It means following good water heater flushing practice. You can go to any water heater manufacturer web site and they should have a Technical Bulletin with instructions.
Basically you turn off the water heater supply line and the outlet side if there is a shut off. Shut down the energy source to the water heater. There is a flush valve hose bib at the bottom of the water heater. Connect a garden hose to that. Drain all of the water out of the tank. Open the inlet cold water supply valve and that will help flush any sediment at the bottom of the tank. Turn off the cold water supply and repeat the on and off with that valve until it appears that the water is continuously coming out clear. Then disconnect the hose, turn off the flush valve. (This can be tricky since more often than not that valve will not reseat properly. If it doesn't reseat then get a cap to screw on to the flush valve). If you have the flush valve closed or capped then open the inlet and outlet water valves. Reactivate the energy source. Then go to all of the hot water faucets in the home and open them until the water runs clear. Again, check the Water Heater manufacturer web sites or this one:
www..rheem.com/Documents/ResourceLibrary/TSB_Common/1202.pdf
Good to look at those instructions. I may have forgotten something. Good Luck.
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Author:
Anonymous User
Thanks for all your advice!
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