Brown water??

[mcintoshmc]

I just purchased an older home from the 50's that had been vacated for 4 months prior to my family moving in. I have brown water coming from all faucets in kitchen and bathroom. I was told that it was rust because I have old galvanized pipes, and that it will clear itself out. Well, 1 month later, I still have shades of brown water when I first cut on the water, and then it goes away. This weekend, I had to cut off the water to the house in order to change the water pressure regulator. The water was off for about 4 hours, and when I finally cut it back on, the water was brown again, like it was when we first moved in. What should I do?

 

[johnjh2o]

It's time to re-pipe. The galvanized pipe is your problem. In time the lines will even become plugged, or they could start failing.

John

 

[Matt30]

If you are on a hot water tank system, that is now most likely filled up with that crud too. If have that flushed or replaced before putting hot water to the new water lines.

 

[PioneerPlumber]

If it clears up right away after turning on the water, your problem may not be a full re-pipe. I've seen many homes piped with copper tubing that have brass "copper x female" fittings at every stub out. The galvanized piping may be isolated to just the stub outs and tub spouts. I'd look into wether or not the whole home is piped in galvanized or not. If its galv., you definitely need a repipe. If its copper, just get rid of the galvanized piping only.

 

[jerrodmerit]

Many pool owners will have to fight with brown pool water from time to time, and the best way to understand how to get rid of it is to understand what's causing it.