Debris in line

[dubele]

Is it normal after soldering pipes to have debris in the lines? The debris is greenish in color. I had a buddy solder a new Kohler valve on in my guest bathroom and debris is coming out of my master bathroom shower and clogging the shower head. I had to take it off to clean it out about three times. Also, the hot water in my master bathroom sink has slowed substantially since the soldering and I suspect it is clogged with debris.....not sure how to resolve this.

Thanks,
Doug

[jadnashua]

It's not generally the act of soldering the pipes, but the fact that you turned the water off then back on. This can dislodge built-up crud in the lines. remove the aerator of the faucet and clean it out. That usually solves the problem. While you have that off, run the water full-blast through it for a bit. Some of the restriction will be in the aerator, so removing it will flush more crud out when you turn the water back on.

[nestork]

You said:

Also, the hot water in my master bathroom sink has slowed substantially since the soldering and I suspect it is clogged with debris.....

How's the cold water flow on that same faucet?

Do you have shut off valves under that sink and are they of the type that would allow you to remove the spindles and flush out the lines through the shut off valves?

[dubele]

Thanks guys. A few comments.

Debris - I have turned my water off and on many times and have never had crud come out the lines as a result. Also, what's wierd about this is several weeks after the valve was soldered on and all the crud was gone, I soldered on a new elbow for the tub faucet (I had to cut off the previous and raise the faucet). The soldering was done past the valve, yet the next time I took a shower in the other bathroom, the shower head clogged with crud. How in the hell did that happen??? Now, I did cap the shower and tub faucet to test for leaks....maybe crud from soldering blew back up I to the valve?? I don't know, but I have never had this issue until the soldering...Again, I turn my water off and on several times a year as I traveling.

Master bathroom sink - I did take the aerator off to clean it and also turned the water on for a while....didn't work. The cold water is fine...when you switch over to hot it starts to slow up. I don't know what you call the valves :-) but, they are silver with the elongated oval knobs....the kind that ALWAYS freeze up on you LOL!! They are soldered on the incoming pipes and the sinks pipes are attached by compression fittings.

Thanks again guys!!!

Doug

[jadnashua]

If you don't drain the lines when you shut them off (say when leaving for a vacation), it won't dislodge things...it's when you drain them at least partially, then the inrush of water that knocks crud loose. It's also possible that if there is crud near where you're soldering things in, heating the pipe will dislodge stuff as well as it dries out and flakes off.

[nestork]

Doug:

I'm suspecting that greenish stuff is coming from your water heater.

What I'd do is pour a bathtub or laundry room sink full of hot water, and then see if you get lots of that greenish stuff in your tub. (Neither your tub spout nor your laundry sink faucet will have aerators on them to strain the stuff out of the water that you collect.)

If you find that green stuff in the water, leave it overnight for the water to cool down, and then collect as much of it as you can with a fine screen or something.

Now see if that stuff dissolves in vinegar and if CO2 bubbles form on it when you drop it into the vinegar. If so, I suspect it's lime scale from your water heater.

Does your water heater make funny noises when it's heating water?

Also, from your description, the shut off valves under your sink look like this:



Is that correct?

[jadnashua]

FWIW, a new WH should not be releasing crud, so I really think it is more likely to be in the pipes. The water chemistry and treatment varies radically all over the place, so you may live in an area where lots of stuff accumulates on the insides of your pipes.