If you switch on the tap for a glass of water or to brush your teeth only to find a cloudy, brown mess, you likely have rust in your water. The good news is that it isn’t likely to hurt you. For the most part. But, it can be an unsettling and just gross experience. No one wants to see yucky brown water coming from their plumbing.
When you get past the visual shock, you are most likely questioning why this is happening and what triggered it. Today, we will have a look at what causes your faucet water to look brown and cloudy and what you can do about it.
Why Is the Water Brown?
The most likely things to be discoloring your water are tiny particles of the minerals iron and manganese. The metallic particles interact with water eventually becoming rusted and enter the flow of water to your faucet turning the water to a brown color.
How Unsafe is Rusty Water?
Without knowing the specific cause of the discoloration, you can’t be positive that the brown water isn’t hazardous. However, typically speaking, rusty water doesn’t cause a risk to your health. There are regulations in place regarding public safety. These regulations keep water with unsafe substances such as lead or arsenic from being distributed to the general public.
Obviously, even if the water does not hurt you, it can still be annoying. The look is extremely unsightly and there may also be a taste to the water that would make it undesirable to drink or cook with. If you have sensitive skin, it could even cause a rash.
What Causes Brown Water?
One way to pinpoint your problem is to determine where the brown water is coming from. For instance, if the water is brown only when hot water is running, the problem is in the hot water tank. If all water is brown, the issue is with the supply. If the problem is only with cold water or in certain faucets, it is likely coming from a couple of specific pipes.
How to Fix Brown or Rusty Water
As soon as you have nailed down where the real problem is originating from you can begin to look for a plumbing solution. Here is how you can begin to manage each of the circumstances listed above.
- If all water is brown, you might be dealing with a problem with the primary supply. You should reach out to your water company. There is a very good chance that maintenance they are doing to their own lines or other city work is causing the discoloration. If that does happen to be the case, running the water for a couple of minutes once the maintenance is finished ought to restore your water to normal.
- If water is brown only when hot water is running, then you know that the problem is most likely inside of your hot water tank. It will need to be drained and flushed. You can do this job DIY if you have the time and the tools for it, but in many cases, it is best to just go ahead and call a licensed plumbing technician for this job so it is done right.
- When the issue is only with cold water or in certain faucets, it is coming from your pipes. You might be able to run the water for a few moments and resolve the problem. It is not all that unusual for a small amount of rust to develop and become dislodged. Nevertheless, if the issue continues, you will need to contact a plumber to clean or upgrade the pipes before you encounter serious problems.
Call a Moore, OK Plumber Today!
If you are seeing rust in your supply of water or you are having other types of plumbing problems, please call (405) 943-0009 and schedule an appointment with one of Mullin Plumbing Oklahoma City extremely experienced and licensed plumbers. They will have everything running smoothly again in no time!