New Home Construction: Sand in Pipes?
 

We moved into our new build a few weeks ago before which we had both a whole home filtration system and water softener added.

Within a couple weeks, while doing laundry, our brand new - and expensive - washing machine threw an error while midway through a cycle indicating no water supply. I figured it was a "glitch" and let it sit for about 20 minutes before restarting which seemed to work fine. I also ran a Rinse Only cycle which also seemed to work.

Then a couple days later one of our bathroom faucets - the one that shares the wall with our washing machine - completely stopped working.

I called TV Warranty who had Mike Scott out and immediately they suspected sand in the line. The plumber used a plastic tool to open the end of the faucet and, sure enough, sand had clogged it. He let it run again and it again slowed to the point where he needed to clean it. While he was doing this, I ran an empty Quick Wash cycle to ensure the washing machine was working and it seemed to be.

But shortly after he left, we ran another load of laundry and our washing machine threw the same error indicating the water supply was cut.

I'm going to call them back out, but I wonder if anyone else has had this similar issue as it seems to be fairly common here. The plumber actually said he figured there was sand in the line before we added the filtration and it had just taken time to reach our faucets.

Ugh.

I’d recommend unscrewing the water feed (hot and cold) that goes into the machine. Sometimes there is a sediment filter/cap installed. I’d also recommend cleaning (if there is one) the waste filter on the machine itself. It’s usually behind a door towards the bottom front of the machine.

As a precaution, I also inspect any other water filter devices that you might have.

Also look for any sediment in toilet bowls, faucets, refrigerator water filters, instant hot water tanks, etc.,

Sorry to read that you are having problems. The Villages is usually good about getting them resolved quickly.

Thank you so much for this - very helpful!

I'm checking with our manufacturer too on how best to clean and inspect the machine before using it again - hopefully we can find the sand is caught at the line, clean it, and it's a one-off thing here.

I appreciate your advice.

do not run the washer machine again until you are sure the sand is cleared out. Sand will quickly wear down the pump impellers, which will make for some wet clothes if not all the water is removed.

I would also check with neighbors to see if they are having this problem.

Thanks - I posted in our local Facebook group.

And my wife spoke with someone last night who said another homeowner reported their washing machine apparently leaked water over the floor as outflow drain was clogged with sand. This doesn't make sense to me, but that's what was reported.

I was able to unscrew the two water intake pipes and noticed that the hot water had sand against the plastic filter. When removing the plastic filter, fortunately the manufacturer (LG) also has a finer mesh that also trapped some of the sand. It didn't appear there was enough sand to completely clog the line, but there was definitely enough to impede it and likely set off the warning.

I cleaned both the plastic piece and mesh, reinstalled, and have since run a couple of loads with no issue. I figured due to both the dual filtration and the fine mesh at the intake, any grains that their way into the unit were small enough to be discharged through the sprayers and likely out with the greywater.

Fingers crossed we're in the clear now. The folks at Mike Scott plumbing were very helpful and mentioned that the installed (Home Depot in our case) should have run the water through the lines for several minutes before connecting. To me, that's didn't seem necessary as one wouldn't expect sand in plumbing.

Do not over look the possibility of the water softener being installed backwards. Water going in the out connection and coming out of the IN connection to the rest of the house. It allows the sand to flush out of the softener. Had it happen. Same symptoms.

Interesting. By why would sand be in the softener in the first place? We're NaCl but even with KCl where does sand fit in?

Did anyone check if the Tankless hot water heater has a input screen?

When you watch them install the water lines here, is impossible to imagine there would not be sand in the lines...

SOP should be to flush them during construction

The builder does not warrant appliances. However, if sand in the potable water system is causing appliances to fail, this could be a warranty issue with the water system. The sand should have been flushed out before connecting the appliances. If the appliance manufacturer confirms that this is causing the problem, I would file a warranty claim with the builder. Take photos.

All appliances on our new build came with a 2 year warranty.

My Villages warranty booklet, on page 9, Section IX, "manufacturers and other similar warranties", states:

"Your warranty does not apply to any manufactured item, such as appliances, fixtures, equipment ... or any other item which is covered by a manufacturer's warranty ..."

Also, it specifically names appliances that are not covered. Some appliances will include a 2-year warranty from the manufacturer, but others only have a 1-year warranty. If the manufacturer determines that an appliance failed due to sand in the potable water system, they could exclude warranty coverage.

If your Villages warranty says anything that is different, please post it. Thanks.

Should this continue you might have a crack in one of your in ground water pipes which is allowing sand to get into the pipe. Home Warranty will cover it, but that will be a huge mess to repipe. If sand got into your pipes while they were connecting them that should wash out fairly quickly, otherwise you have a crack somewhere.

Sand in pipes
 

You are lucky it was only faucets! When we moved in, it was the HVAC lines. The safety valve was also defective, so AC did not shut off & the A/C kept running and water/condensation backed up into our master closet under the carpeting, so we didn't notice any water until I kneeled down in the closet to get something. There were gallons of water! They had to completely uninstall everything, rebuild the box the unit sat on, tear out carpeting & drywall in closet. Not to mention we had to remove everything from our master closet which backed up to the HVAC unit in the garage. What a mess!

My guess is that one of the PVC pipes got some sand in it during your build. Mike Scott should be your original installer and it should have been their responsibility to flush the newly installed lines before faucet/showerhead/appliance hookups. Hopefully it's only the hot water lines. Have Mike Scott come out and clear all sediment filters and screens (don't forget your refrigerator water supply) and flush your system at the furthest points. I would think the furthest point would be the master bath but it'll depend on your model. If doing yourself, I'd take the shower head off and open hot then cold lines one at a time full blast for about 10-15 minutes.
Your only problem may be that you had the filter and softener installed so Mike Scott might try to blame the company you had install those, as it appears they already have. If so , call that company and have them do the work I mentioned above and tell them that Mike Scott blamed them. I just don't see how it would be the filter installer because all their work is above ground. The original pipe install are buried pipes that are cut and glued below grade.
JMHO on this and it might be something happening that is above my pay grade to figure out but you have to advocate for yourself and don't just take their word on things. I had a window problem where the builder blamed the manufacturer and visa-versa and when they finally opened it up after my insistence I wouldn't accept their bandaid repair, it was discovered that the install was set to low so they never secured to the header. So it WAS the installers. It took 8 MONTHS to finally get it fixed correctly (this was during COVID so this may account for some of the time) but I think they were just waiting for me to get tired of complaining and accept it the way it was.

You may want to consider adding a whole house water filter. This filter is installed inline to your water supply line entering your house and just before your water softener. Home Depot and Lowe’s sells them for roughly $100. I installed one when I moved in and changed it after the first 90 days. I was surprised how much sediment it had collected. I changed it a second time 90 days later (after 6 months of ownership) and it was much cleaner. Now I will change it every year. Good luck.

By the way, simple installation. A DIY project for most homeowners.

Would you mind telling us what village you're in

We're moving into WellPoint soon and I want to be sure to check for this
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Broken Water Softener Tank
 

We had similar symptoms and the “sand” turned out to be resin from the water softener tank. The softener company rebuilt the tank and found that the filters inside of the tank had broken letting the resin into our water supply and clogging faucets and washing machine. Very weird symptoms.

(The softener has not worked properly since then - they should have replaced the tank.)

I so agree with what you said and how you said it. Dependable, trustworthy warranty department who bend over backward to help......unless you get impossibly snarly.

The OP said that the house already has both filter and softener systems.

Correct. We had Nova install both a whole house water filtration unit as well as a NaCl softener (and RO, but that's not really relevant).

And I'm catching up to this thread since there was a lot of helpful information and questions so I'll try to reply to each here:

* RE: Warranty of the appliances. First, these are our own new appliances as new builds don't come with washing machines or dryers (just a refrigerator, oven/range, and dishwasher). So of course I wouldn't expect them to warranty them or even those they installed. But I would think they would be accountable for any damage if basic services they DO warranty to some standard (i.e. plumbing, electrical, etc.) do affect them regardless of provider (developer or buyer).

* RE: Filter at hot water heater: good question. I have no idea if there is one, but I would expect any H2O entry point to be properly screened/set just like the quality of our potable water to be at some standard. So aside from maintenance of the units themselves, home owners shouldn't have to worry about them.

* For Ham_and_Cheese, we are located in Waters Edge - so not far from Wellpoint. Not sure if it's similar as up north, but we've notice significant sandstorms when the wind blows here as most of this area - if not the entire state of Florida - seems to be built on sand.

* For eeroger: Holy $*!T! That would be a nightmare if the HVAC lines were clogged. Was your issue sand too? Or other? I've already flushed my condensation lines and ordered new filters, coil cleaner, vinegar, and an attachment for our shop vac to suck the sludge at least quarterly and new filters to keep on top of maintenance of our system. We run COLD in our house and what many don't realize is these units don't get a break like they do up north so keeping them clean and running efficiently is paramount to their longevity.

Thanks, all!

Thanks! You made me look :-)

Here's instructions for cleaning the inlet filter on the Rheem tankless we have.

Easy to do, just did mine, it was about 30% clogged after 5+ years.

Mostly debris from the annual flushing. So this filter definitely needs to be cleaned after the annual flush.

https://youtu.be/jQ7Y6ujFbWg

Super helpful - thanks!

If you haven't seen it, Rusty Nelson also has some great home maintenance videos on how to maintain our systems, including tankless hot water heaters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APo7dHvQ3cU&t=760s

When I bought my house, the builder did offer to install a washer and dryer for an additional charge. But, it was not warranted by the builder. Note the builder has no one who can repair appliances. That is why they do not warrant appliances.

When people talk about the Nova and or the softener being the problem, It's theoretically possible that the softener resin may be leaking into the water supply. You may be seeing some of the resin and not sand. Especially, if you keep seeing it. There is no way sediment is passing through the Nova Filter. Either way if both are Nova, I would call them and I'm sure they will come out and investigate..

No sand since clearing the lines - I suspect it was here before Nova. Could it be the plumbing stubs (if that is indeed what they are) that one sees on new lots that are left uncapped?

We had same problem, Mike Scott never blew out the lines. Plugged up fridge, had a broken pipe behind it that had the air hammer broken off and filled it with cement. Took 9 years for the cement to break down and we had water leak. Plumber said it should have been fixed not our fault. We got stuck with repairing it

Wow - sorry to hear that. Do you mind if I ask in what village or area you're located?

I'm hoping we didn't have much sand accumulate and what we did get was flushed after the recent clogging, but who knows, and I'm not sure what can be done now, if anything.