Brown flakes appearing in tap water

[Phlebas]

Hello all

In the last few days, small brown flakes have been appearing in the cold water from the basin tap in my bathroom. The flakes don't appear from any other cold tap in the house (en-suite, downstaiirs toilet, kithcen sink) nor from the hot water.

The bathroom basin tap is a mixer, the flakes only come from the cold water, not the hot.

I have tested them with a magnet, it does not attract them so I don't think the flakes are rust.

I believe the cold water for this tap comes from the tank in the loft, should I take a look in the tank?

Thanks in advance

 

[tryitandsee]

Presumably that's the tap you use to brush your teeth

Perhaps it would be a good time to check the tank.
Turn off the mains tap and then turn on the bathroom sink tap and let the tank empty in the loft. Take sponge, large cork and two buckets up in the loft, one with some hot water for cleaning tank the other for putting in all the sediment. Cork is to plug the cold outlet so no debris goes down the hole when cleaning, otherwise you will block the pipe/tap. I spray bleach in just to make me feel that I am killing things! good rinse and job done

 

[Phlebas]

Presumably that's the tap you use to brush your teeth

Not for the last few days! Yuck!

I'll do as you say, I have a cone shaped rubber bung that will block the tank outlet.

I dread to think what horrors await me!

What I don't understand is why it only comes out the bathroom tap and not any other e.g. the en-suite. Could it just be a peculiarity of the pipework?

Thanks

 

[Phlebas]

Hello

I've drained the tank and cleaned it out.

There was nothing in the tank except for sediment. The lid was on tight and there was definitely no brown flakes or any sign of any foreign objects.

All I could smell was a faint whiff of chlorine, nothing nasty.

Unfortunately the brown flakes are still appearing from the bathroom tap. They don't come out of any other.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[tryitandsee]

That's a shame.
Text taken from internet regarding colour etc, but I don't think that is your case, as the other cold tank fed taps would be affected. I suspect the cold supply to your basin mixer tap is getting warm, either by transfer of heat from the hot supply pipe running next to it or maybe back flow from hot water at tap itself. The result being this slime.

You say the cold is tank fed, what is the hot?
Does it continue being discolored/flaky or will it run clear after a while running it full bore?

Colour

The water coming out of the taps is discolored
Depending on the colour of the water this may well be a problem with your internal plumbing.

If the problem is coming from all cold taps except the kitchen cold tap it is likely that the water is being affected after it has entered your property. If you have a cold water storage tank you should check to ensure that nothing has fallen into it (there should be a fitted lid with air vents to prevent this from happening).

If the problem is also affecting the cold water kitchen tap (which should be fed directly from the mains) then it is likely that water is being affected before it reaches your internal plumbing.

The water is cloudy
White and / or cloudy water can mean one of two things.

If the water clears from the bottom to the top, that simply means there is some dissolved air in the water – this is not a quality issue.

If the water clears from the top to the bottom, this could mean some type of dissolved solid or sediment is in the water. This needs further investigation. Contact us online (click here) or contact or main switchboard (click here).

The water is a reddish/brown colour
Reddish or brown coloured water is most commonly associated with iron contamination, generally from corroded steel and iron pipe work.

If the corrosion is on your pipe work then this will need to be addressed by your plumber. The corrosion may however be coming from Jersey Water pipes. Before engaging a plumber to investigate your pipe work contact the Company (online (click here) or via the main switchboard (click here) and we will establish the source of the problem.

The water is green in colour
This is most commonly associated with the corrosion of copper pipe work. In this case the cause of the problem is almost certainly due to the corrosion of internal pipe work which is a job for your plumber.