It’s been a long, hard day and you are looking forward to relaxing in a nice, hot bath. You turn on your tap to let the tub fill up, then step away to light your scented candle and put on some soft music- bath time here we come! But, to your utter shock and surprise, you return to find a tub full of blood red water, as if you are starring in a horror movie! Fortunately, it’s not blood, but it’s still disgusting. What you have is a rusty water problem!
We usually turn on a faucet and expect clear, sparkling water to flow out to use in our drinking, bathing, cooking, and cleaning, so it’s an unpleasant surprise when you open the tap and see reddish-brown, rusty-looking water come pouring out! If you have set up Aqua Clear Water Systems in your home you can manage the problem for now, it will make your water clear again, but you probably have a situation that you will need to do something more about. So, the first question is “Why is my tap water rusty?”
There are a number of reasons why your water appears red and rusty. It could be a city-wide issue, but it’s more likely localized to your home. If it were a contaminated city supply, you would be receiving warnings and instructions from your local public health officials. The cause of your rust issue is most likely one of the three following scenarios. If-
– All your hot and cold water is rusty: The problem probably isn’t contamination at the water source, it’s more likely to be a local water main break. The infrastructures of many older cities date back decades, or even centuries, and eventually break down.
– Only your cold water is discoloured, and only from certain faucets: The problem can be narrowed down to a particular pipe in your home. While modern pipes are usually made of PVC, old galvanized steel and copper tubing can still be found in older homes. The rusty water is a sign that those pipes need replacing.
– Only the hot water is rusty, and it’s throughout your house: When the hot water goes rusty everywhere the cause can be found in your old hot water tank, where sediment and rust have built up over the years.
While rusty water is disgusting looking, and you wouldn’t want to drink it, it’s not really dangerous, either. If it happens, just call your friendly neighbourhood plumber to come out and fix the problem! They will have you back in the clear in no time!
