black particles clogging faucet aerators

[Handsrusinkc]

I have sink aerators throughout my house that get clogged with particles or sediment. I can run the bath with the aerator out and I get all of these black particles in the bathtub (photo). It does seem that the sediment is in the hot water more than the cold water.

Here's a photo of what it looks like in my bathtub (sorry so large):



I asked the city to come out and they said that it is calcium and it is normal. Nothing that they can do about it.

The person from the city said that it is probably coming from my water heater and that the recirculating line that I have is at least partly to blame. Sounds ridiculous to me.

two questions:

1) is the Water heater (electric type) and/or the recirculator to blame?

2) If I choose to filter the water, should I filter the water before or after the water heater and what type of filter should I use?

 

[Cwhyu2]

Do you still have galvinized iron pipe somewhere in your house?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

probably the heater

Have you flushed out your heater lately???

Either you have galvanized pipes or you got issues
in the water heater with the dip tube or lime and sediment

 

[Handsrusinkc]

My house is essentially new. It is a 40 year old house that was completely remodeled. All of the pipe is new copper pipe and the water heater is new also.

 

[Handsrusinkc]

When I flush my water heater, I just run water out of the tap at the bottom of it for a minute or two. Is that adequate?

 

[Cwhyu2]

Do you have a water softener? I have seen problems like this before and
found that they can loosen particals inside w/h tank.Iwould flush your tank
for 10 min.

 

[Handsrusinkc]

Actually, I said above that the city found that it was iron and my wife just reminded me that they actually said it was CALCIUM.

 

[Cwhyu2]

A faulty W/S can cause this to.Do you have one so I can rule this out.

 

[Handsrusinkc]

A faulty W/S can cause this to.Do you have one so I can rule this out.

if W/S means water softener, then NO, I do not have one.

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

My guess.
One of two things.
The water main outside the building is still galvy.
The water heater's anode or nipples are corroding/collecting deposits that are breaking away.
Have your water tested BEFORE concluding you need a softener.

 

[Cwhyu2]

How long has this been going on.Has the water co done a shut down recently? Sorry about all the ? but it may help me solve your problem.I believe a 40 yr old house would have copper main.

 

[Handsrusinkc]

My guess.
One of two things.
The water main outside the building is still galvy.
The water heater's anode or nipples are corroding/collecting deposits that are breaking away.
Have your water tested BEFORE concluding you need a softener.

I did have it tested and they said that it has Calcium in it. They said that this is normal for the area and that they don't need to do anything about it.

How do I figure out if the anode or nipples are corroding?

 

[Handsrusinkc]

How long has this been going on.Has the water co done a shut down recently? Sorry about all the ? but it may help me solve your problem.I believe a 40 yr old house would have copper main.

The water heater and ALL NEW copper plumbing was installed about a year and a half ago. The only "shut down" that I know of was when I had them come out and check the water meter, because of all of this junk in the water. They said the water meter was fine and that it's filter was fine.

 

[Cwhyu2]

This is what Iwould to do,one by one remove aireators and run hot &cold
seperately at each faucet for 3 min,and clean airators.This may flush your
system out.then check back later.The reason is that debris is heavier than
water and maybey now finding its way to your fixtures.
Give it a try.

 

[Mike Swearingen]

I am not a professional plumber, just an old DIYer.
Most regenerating water softeners are designed to remove calcium and magnesium, both of which make water "hard".
As suggested, I would thoroughly flush the water heater and all water lines (without aerators on) to see if that doesn't get rid of the particles. If it doesn't, I would consider a water softener.
Don't forget to check the screens in your washing machine supply hose connections, too.
Good Luck!
Mike

 

[Jadnashua]

There's little need for a water softener, but there is often a desire for the softer water. How hard is the water?

A recirculation line may mean that the WH gets to heat the same water more than once, and that could preciptiate out more calcium.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

Get a water softener

Why not call a Water Softener store in your area that leases water conditioners
and try leaseing a WS for a
few months and see if the problem just goes away...


its fairley inexpensive to try ---probably $130 to install one of their
units and probably only 20 p[er month to lease





and if it dont fix the problem, just blame them...

 

[in wants out]

Find out whether the city water has chloramine. Many municipalities are adding ammonia with chlorine as a disinfectant, which is more destructive to rubber plumbing parts.

 

[theelviscerator]

Find out whether the city water has chloramine. Many municipalities are adding ammonia with chlorine as a disinfectant, which is more destructive to rubber plumbing parts.

This is routine, without the ammonia the cl2 would never make it to the consumer.