Green water mystery

My bathroom was just renovated, and now when you fill up the tub the water has a greenish tinge. It happens whether you use hot water or cold water, and it doesn’t matter how long you let it run. But it’s only apparent when the white tub is pretty full. The piping to the tub is copper. The plumbers I’ve shown it to (not just the guy who did it) say not to worry, but it seems to me like bath water should be clear. Two questions: should I be worried about this? And if I should, how should I fix it?

xchx

in Roofers 9 years and 6 months ago

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xchx | 9 years and 6 months ago

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MYSTERY SOLVED: It was the lighting- water is clear when you take it out of the room.

xchx | 9 years and 6 months ago

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Ooo interesting idea about the lighting – we did change that too but I don’t know what kind of bulbs are in there. I will check when I get home.

nyc_sport | 9 years and 6 months ago

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Flourescent lighting definitely does cause a green tint to standing water. Pour some water in a clear picture and take it outside on a sunny day and see if you see green. A slight green tint can be a sign of oxidizing copper or brass. Might be a reflection of the new fixtures. If you are worried about this, get the water tested. There are lots of mail order places to do this (the home kits are not very effective). You might want to test both where the water comes into the house, and at the tap in question. I assume that you are in a house and not apartment building. Oxidation from storage tanks in apartment buildings often causes harmless levels of oxidized metals. It is often the case that this is not visible until you are looking at 12-18 inches of water in a tub.

Lurker | 9 years and 6 months ago

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Any chance you changed the lighting in the process? It’s possible your new CFL or LED bulbs produce “cool” (3,000-5,000k) light which may give your water a blue/green tinge.