How To: Avoid Brown Water In Your Pipes!

By Local Service Pro Plumbing | November 22, 2021 |

Just imagine a hot summer California day and going to your kitchen to grab some water. But just when you are about to take the first sip of that tap water, AH! You realize that the water is brown! What’s happening to your faucet and pipelines? Is it dangerous to drink brown water? And most importantly, what can we do now?

Brown Water: Causes and Effects

Usually, when we find that our water has a funky color, it’s due to a mix of disturbed minerals, sediment, or even rust. This can start in your own pipelines or even in the water mains. These mains can break and adjacent construction can also stir up these sediments and cause the water to change color. And sometimes, these water changes can occur when the fire department opens a hydrant for an emergency. Since the pressure of the water increases, this dislodges mineral deposits that have stuck to the interior of the pipes over time.

If this were the case, when normal water pressure resumes, loose rust may get blown out along with the water. This means that, eventually, water will clear on its own within a few hours. If not, it may be time to call a professional plumber to determine what the exact problem may be. Also, take a look at this list and check to see if one of the causes may be here:

Valves opening or closing
Changing the setting of valves
Laying a new supply pipe
Switching water back on following a mains repair

Have you seen any of the above happen lately? If not, then you really must contact a professional plumber!

Can We Drink From That Water?

To sum it up, drinking brown water won’t kill you. Think of brown water as a minor inconvenience instead of a serious health concern. What happens is that since this water could be a result of too much iron, it could damage your clothes and even fixtures. Also, since it has so much iron, if you decide to taste it, it will basically taste a bit metallic.

Now, that being said, this doesn’t we recommend you drink it or your family. You could still shower with it, although you may think or feel as if you’re not really clean! Have in mind that assuming that the brown water is safe to drink could also be naïve. While it may not be poisonous or severely harmful, it can have an unpleasant taste, smell bad and aesthetically not look very appealing.

What You Should Do

It’s best to let this water run and wait for “clean water” to appear in a few minutes. Meanwhile, it’s best if you buy some bottled water. But, if several minutes (15-20 minutes) have gone by and the water does not appear cleaner, it’s best you call a professional plumber. Why? Well, most likely you have a leak from a rusted plumbing pipe and that could be hazardous since this could be a breeding ground for various forms of bacteria. Ultimately, this could cause several health problems if you decide to drink from it. Also, rust build-up could corrode and crack your plumbing and expose your water supply to contaminants in the air.