Black Soot in bathtub from SharkBite

SuperMatttheHero

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• Apr 23, 2013

• #1

I've been getting black soot coming out in the bathtub when the hot water hasn't been used all night. It doesn't appear to be broken-up rubber. It is very fine, black, and the large pieces will break up and dissolve if I poke them with my finger. It will smear on the tub.

I have a gas hot water heater. Does this mean it's on its way out? It's been like this for months now.

EDIT: I should add that I also get them in the bathroom sink. It is not limited to the bathtub.

 

LLigetfa

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• Apr 23, 2013

• #2

It is probably from the anode rod disintegrating. It could also be manganese but I doubt it.

 

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SuperMatttheHero

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• Apr 23, 2013

• #3

LLigetfa said:

It is probably from the anode rod disintegrating. It could also be manganese but I doubt it.

Click to expand...

What do I do about it?

 

hj

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• Apr 24, 2013

• #4

It is magnesium sulfide, often caused by a reaction between the anode rod and soft water. Change the rod and try to flush the remnants out of the heater, which may not be possible.

 

matrazar

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• Jul 17, 2013

• #5

I recently replaced my gas hot water heater 2nd floor above master bathroom.
I now have black soot appearing in my tub. since this is a new tub I am guessing I have magnesium sulfide in the pipes is there anything I can use to flush this out and clean the lines?

 

SuperMatttheHero

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• Mar 7, 2014

• #6

Update: The problem wasn't the water heater, it was the Sharkbite flexible water heater lines I had used. Replacing them with conventional flexible copper lines solved the problem. Here is a link to someone else who had the same issue:

http://www.kcsr.org/showthread.php?t=84485

 

Terry

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• Mar 7, 2014

• #7

So the O-ring on the Shark Bite flex connector failed?
There is a lot of heat right off the water heater.

 

JerryR

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• Mar 7, 2014

• #8

Terry said:

So the O-ring on the Shark Bite flex connector failed?
There is a lot of heat right off the water heater.

Click to expand...

Not the o-ring. I believe it is the rubber lining inside the sharkbite stainless steel braided flex hose that disintegrates.
http://www.sdsmarket.com/Cash_Acme_U3088FLEX24_Flexible_Connector_24_Length_p/u3088flex24.htm

 

poe

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• Mar 13, 2014

• #9

I have the same problem but all of my lines are copper. Running peroxide through my tank cleared it for about a week. I pulled my anode rod to find it covered with a thick layer of the black slime.

 

S.Smith

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• Mar 11, 2015

• #10

Hey everyone. I realize this post is almost a year late, but after I replaced my water heater about 2 years ago, using Sharkbite U3088Flex24 Flexible Connectors for both my hot and cold lines, I started having the same problem with black soot in my bathtub. I just replaced them with Flexible copper. I cut one of the sharkbite connectors open and it was, in fact, black rubber on the inside. The rubber was disintegrating into black, flakey pieces that, when rubbed together, further dissolved into a slimy greasy film. Exactly the stuff that was in the bathtub. Thought I would share. Good luck to all.