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Old 03-26-2012, 04:15 PM
mrfixit mrfixit is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Walt. View Post
I went to fill a water bottle from the kitchen tap and was amazed at what came out.
The bottle was loaded with black flakes and the water seemed discolored. I touched some of the flakes and they just smeared and appeared to be a bit greasy.
I ran the water a bit more and it got better a short time later. The water in the bathroms and the laundry room sink are all fine, as is the water from the hose hook-ups outside. Does anybody know what this was or where it came from? The laundry room sink is closest to the water heater and is ok so I don't think the heater would be it.
We had a new faucet installed about 10 months ago.
Any help/suggestions appreciated.
Walt.
...............Black Flakes.....Greasy feel when you smear them.

....It is likely BLACK ("Bacteriological") IRON ...... It is lurking in most ALL water pipes....NOT TO WORRY......

GENERALLY seen AFTER pipes are bumped or disturbed or new faucets or other items are installed in your system.
SOMETIMES caused by pipes being disturbed UPSTREAM that belong to supplier of you water.

IF you are familar with the following procedures ...and a little bit mechanically inclined ....you might consider this a do-it-yourself project.

YOU MUST WEAR SAFETY GOGGLEs AND KEEP the AREAS WELL VENTILATED...

IF you have a "filter" set-up for your household water supply..... simply shut OFF the water supply.....then pour 10 oz. of Chlorine in the filter basket....turn the water supply back ON ........run EACH tap IN the house UNTIL you smell Chlorine. ( when you first run the water you will get ...air bursts..... because you opened the system.....Drape a wash cloth around the taps ....and ...wear clothes you don't like ..in case chlorine gets on you.)
Do EVERY tap. ...then wait 6 hours or so ....then run each tap again UNTIL you no longer smell chlorine.....When you first run the water after the SIX hour (MINIMUM) wait ...you LIKELY will see the BLACK IRON come out of EACH tap.

BE SURE TO BUY BOTTLED WATER PRIOR TO THIS PROCEDURE.....AND.....
TAPE A WARNING TO EACH FAUCET....including your shower...
DO NOT DRINK THE WATER UNTIL THE CHLORINE SMELL IS GONE.......

.....OR....You can simply IGNORE the flakes......and clean your faucet screens when the flow seems restricted from the buildup of BLACK IRON.

IF the BLACK IRON bothers you.... and... you are not familar with the procedure....CALL a PLUMBER....
LIKELY COST.....$65. for service call.
.........................75. for Labor.

Then YOU run your taps after the 6 or more hours. IF you want the PLUMBER to Come ack to run the water DOUBLE the COST