Brown water?
Ive been living in a 100 yr old brownstone for about a week. the water has been fine — until tonight and its running very sligtly brown in both showers and bathtubs, even after running it for ten minutes. any idea what could cause this? this hasnt been the case before. the boiler is extremely…
Ive been living in a 100 yr old brownstone for about a week. the water has been fine — until tonight and its running very sligtly brown in both showers and bathtubs, even after running it for ten minutes. any idea what could cause this? this hasnt been the case before. the boiler is extremely old. no idea if that could be a possiblity, but i read somewhere that sediment in a water heater can end up in your pipes. any advice? thanks a lot
If the ‘brown water is only coming out in the showers and bathtubs then most likely it’s your water heater. Your mixing hot and cold at the same time through the shower and tub valves. More so if they’re single lever valves. Check the serial # on your water heater. the date is on every serial #. When I was a plumber, I wrote in magic marker the date installed so the home owner wouldn’t have a problem knowing the date of installation. If any doubts about the age of the water heater, you can contact the manufacturer via the internet or call their customer service number. If it’s an old unit then flushing isn’t really going to help. It means the tank is rotting and it’s time to have a new water heater installed. Most water heaters come with a 6yr or 10yr warranty. If it’s beyond the warranty then I suggest you get it replaced. A flooded basement is no fun. And it always goes when your sleeping in the middle of the night or away from home.
If it’s just the hot water, than the hot water tank in the basement needs to be flushed. Sometimes sediment can build up.
If it’s the hot and cold it’s probably something in the area and there’s nothing that can be done.
it happens in all the pipes around the city. just run your water for a long time.
this usually happens when either someone is doing some work near by or it just happens.
The water in my place was affected too and I live in WT… but I know that when the Fire Department does hydrant checks
throughout different neighborhoods that this happens.
As a matter of fact, the water has already gotten alot clearer again.
Nothing toxic, or to worry about, just not
too pretty! 🙂
That happense a lot. Sometimes sediment gets in the pipes from the city mains. Just keep running the water. It will run clear soon.