Seeing brown or rust-coloured water pour out of your tap can be disturbing and unsettling. It’s a serious health concern for you and your family; No one wants to see brown water coming out of their taps. While the problem could just be temporary, it’s a good idea to understand why it can happen.
Understanding the possible causes and the solutions can help you take action and keep your water safe and clean going forward. This guide by our knowledgeable Toronto plumbers will walk you through some common causes, immediate actions you can take in the short term, longer-term solutions, and professional services available to help you maintain clean, safe tap water.
Let’s dive into why your drinking water might be darker than usual and what you can do about it.
Table of Contents
Why is My Tap Water Brown?
Brown or rusty tap water can happen for a few reasons:
Rusty Pipes
If you live in an older house with ageing plumbing pipes, they can start to rust with some of it getting into your hot or cold water, giving it that brownish tint. This can happen especially in older homes with older steel plumbing. If this is the case, you’ll probably notice a gradual change in your water colour along with a metallic taste.
Sediment Build-up
Sediment can build up in both your water pipes and hot water tank over time. If something stirs it up, it can cause your water to turn brown or rusty for a while. This is more common in areas with hard water if you aren’t regularly flushing out your water heater.
Municipal Water Supply Issues
Sometimes the problem has nothing to do with your home. When your town or city works on main municipal water supply pipes in your neighbourhood, resulting in brown water. If work is happening and your neighbours are also having the same problem, that’s a sign your water problem is probably a temporary municipal water supply issue.
Recent Plumbing Work
Had any recent plumbing work done? That work can shake loose rust and other sediment, turning your brown water for a day or two.
Understanding these common causes can help you decide your next steps if you have brown or rusty water coming out of your taps.
Is Brown Tap Water Safe To Drink?
Don’t drink brown tap water. Don’t even think about it. Buy and drink bottled water until your problem clears up. Brown water can contain harmful contaminants. Even if your tap water clears up after a while, you should still figure out and address what caused it in the first place to make sure your drinking water is safe and keep it safe in the future. Drinking contaminated water can lead to stomach problems associated with metals and bacteria.
Immediate Steps to Take With Brown Water
If you notice brown water coming out of your tap, here’s what you can do right away.
Avoid Using Hot Water
Don’t use only your hot water. It can draw more rust or other metals into your hot water tank or tankless water heater, making things worse. Avoid using your hot water taps until the issue is fixed. Sediment buildup in your water tank or heater can lead to expensive repairs later on.
Check with Neighbours and Local Municipality
Ask your neighbours if they’re experiencing the same issue with their water. Contact your city’s water utility provider, report the problem, and ask if there’s ongoing work in your area. Some city utility providers will have a map on their website of current work happening with water maintenance and the areas impacted.
Run Cold Water
Run only the cold water on all of your taps for a few minutes. Start with the tap closest to your main water supply like a basement bathroom and then work your way through the house. This can help flush out any metals or rust from your water pipes.
Inspect Your Plumbing
Check your plumbing system and taps for leaking pipes, corrosion, or damage in your plumbing system. Also, check under sinks, around your water heater, and in your basement for anything visible, such as drips, cracks, or rust.
How to Flush Out Residential Brown Tap Water
If those immediate quick fixes don’t work, try these steps next.
DIY Solution
Run the cold water from your taps a few more times for a few minutes each time to see if it clears.
If the water doesn’t clear after a few attempts, you can try flushing your water heater by connecting a garden hose to the drain valve and letting the water run out until it’s clear. Remember to turn off the power or gas supply to the water heater before trying this.
Professional Inspection and Repair
If your brown water doesn’t clear up after a few hours and your city isn’t working in the area, that means it’s time to call in the pros. Have an expert use the right tools and know-how to do a detailed inspection of your plumbing system, checking for signs of corrosion, leaks, or other issues that could be causing your water to turn brown.
Water Testing
Get your water tested to find out exactly what’s in it. This can help pinpoint the cause and show if any harmful substances are present. You can buy water testing kits from home renovation stores or off Amazon. You can also hire a professional to test your water and analyze the results for you.
How Dr HVAC Can Help
At Dr HVAC our licensed, experienced, Red Seal plumber professionals are here to help get your tap water clean, clear, and healthy again.
We’ll thoroughly check your plumbing to find out why your water is brown and suggest the best fix in language you’ll understand. If rusty pipes are the problem, we can replace or repair them with newer, better materials.
We also offer repair, flushing and maintenance of your hot water tank which will remove any sediment build-up, making it perform better as well.
Finally, a good home water filtration system will remove almost all impurities as well as chemicals like chlorine that you don’t want to drink, keeping your family’s water clean and healthy. We offer several water filtration system options and professional installation for different needs and budgets.
Preventing Brown Water in the Future
Here’s how to keep your tap water clean and clear going forward.
Regular Maintenance Tips
- Schedule regular plumbing inspections to catch problems early. Annual inspections can identify minor problems before they become major headaches.
- Flush your water heater to remove sediment build-up. This should be done at least once a year, especially if you have hard water.
- Replace older pipes as well as older sinks and faucets that can get rusty. Upgrading your plumbing to modern materials like copper and CPVC can eliminate rust and reduce your risk of brown water. Call our faucet and sink installers – we can help!
Using Water Filtration Systems
Investing in a good water filtration system will keep rust particles and sediment, chemicals, and any other impurities out of your home’s water. Whole-house filtration systems filter your entire home’s water supply, while point-of-use filters will give you clean drinking water in one specific tap, usually in your kitchen.
Water Softening
If you live in an area with hard water (a higher dissolved mineral concentration), installing a water softener can help lower the mineral build-up that happens in your pipes, water tank, and appliances. It can also improve the overall quality of the water you drink, wash your clothes in, and shower with.
Call Dr HVAC Today!
Brown tap water can be unsettling and inconvenient, but it’s also a common and fixable problem.
By understanding some of the causes of brown water and taking quick action, you can get your water back to being clean and clear. Regular maintenance and upgrades can help prevent it from happening again.
If you need professional help, contact Dr HVAC. Our licensed Brampton plumbers have years of experience diagnosing and fixing plumbing issues. We’ll find the problem, lay out your options in language you’ll understand, and have your tap water clean and safe as quickly as possible.Don’t let brown tap water disrupt your family—give us a call or request a quote today.
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