Is your home the source of rusty water or is it coming from the source? We’ll help you find out.
One day, you may come home to the horror of your usually-clean water looking a little different. Rust may be what’s causing your faucet or shower water to look different. Sometimes, rusty water is coming straight from your public water supply, especially in certain older cities. Before you call your plumber, you may want to look for a few clues to figure out whether or not rust is the likely culprit.
Determine if it is Rust
You don’t need to turn to expensive laboratory tests to determine if what you’re dealing with is rust or not. Typically, very rusty water will have a distinctive metallic smell to it as well as a reddish brown coloring. This is because the rust particles are oxidized iron. This means that rusty water is able to leave reddish brown stains in your porcelain white sinks as well. If you notice any of these signs, you may be dealing with rusty pipes.
Where’s it Coming From?
Once you’ve confirmed you’re dealing with rusty water, you need to figure out if it’s coming from within your home or your public supply of water. To check this, go to wherever you first saw rusty water and fill a glass with cold water only. Look for rusty smells or colors and then let the cold water flow for a bit more before getting another sample. Then, run the hot water and sample that as well. If you only have rusty water in your hot water supply or if it goes away after running the water for a while, it’s a good indicator that it’s coming from directly in your home. If it’s present in all samples, call your local water authority to report the problem.
What Do You Do?
If the problem is within your home, your best bet is to replace old sections of pipes. You’ll want to call a plumber and have them inspect the problem areas. The problem could be your water heater, in which case replacement is still the recommended route. Corrosion will only continue to get worse and offer you more and more problems.
Get in Touch With Mahon Plumbing
Mahon Plumbing has been serving the Baltimore region’s plumbing needs since 1994. We’re ready to offer quality plumbing services and gas installation for both commercial and residential uses. Our tracks and employees are ready to handle the toughest of jobs.
For more information, follow our blog or check us out on Facebook or Twitter. We’re able to offer 24 hour a day, 7 day a week emergency services. Please contact us at 410-766-8566 if you have any questions or are in need of emergency services.