We've had slightly dirty h2O for days n BROWN water today

So, I called the water company about a half hour ago. Water is brown. Actually brown. For days it was slight yellow...they left a v.mail (the water company) a couple WEEKS ago that said starting 3/31 they would be flushing the water lines and we may have slightly discolored water that is not harmful for a little bit. So, anyways, that was a WEEK ago. A couple days ago water was slightly yellow. Today it's flat out BROWN. It's terrible. Drink wise all we have here is a half container of juice and milk. But no way in HELL I am drinking this water or brushing my teeth w it or letting my son drink it. So, I called water company and what did they say? They said they haven't even STARTED the flushing of the lines near where I live yet and that'll be in a few days and we may have discolored water AGAIN then and that now it is brown because a couple COMPANIES are...doing something with the water? I don't get it... I really don't know. They said a couple companies are "testing something" and that's why the water is dirty.

They told me not to do any laundry until it is not brown. I asked if it is harmful because been brushing my teeth w it (until now...today, since it's been BROWN... hell no.)- She said it's not harmful, but may stain clothes and just be yucky n it's up to me if I wanna drink other water. Seriously? We pay good money to have water here.... about $55 every two months and this has been going on long enough. So I'm gonna have to run to the store today and buy water and juice and stuff...and maybe go to the Laundromat on Saturday.
This sucks. Ridiculous in my opinion and starting to piss me off.

 

Uh yeah, I wouldn't drink that and the story sounds hokey to me...

 

Yea, I mean... I don't get it. A couple companies are testing something and my water is brown? Oh and I asked how long it'll last and she said "I have no idea how long they'll be doing the testing for"... I'm really confused and don't know what is going on at all but her telling me it's not dangerous doesn't really make me feel better.
And I'm rather annoyed that I'm gonna have to buy a whole bunch of water to use for everything and possibly take my laundry somewhere (and pay for that).

 

after winter thaw,, underground pipes tend to move. ground becomes softer ect.

should shut off water feed to hot water, .. dirty water will damage your HW Tanks as the silt builds up on the bottom.

 

Most likely it's just iron in the water and not harmful. You might get a filter or purification tablets for the time being, at least then you don't need to shop for water every time.

 

What are you saying orison? To turn off the hot water heater?

And bird... I have a Brita pitcher/filter. I wonder if that would filter it enough. That's what Dan said to do but I'm not so sure since we don't know for sure what is making the water yellow then brown... how would I know if the filter will filter it out, ya know?

I just hope it goes back to normal soon.

 

hot water take should have a shut off valve up over it, where the fresh water feeds in. Especially if the water is super dirty. This way you dont need to drain the tank. however you should drain water tank - see bottom where it has like (garden) hose attachment. This will rid the tank of silt at the bottom.
When the tank inside is filled with dirt, takes longer for water to get hot, and will eventually crack the glass. help by draining it periodically .. < most people never drain them. they just buy a new one. as they become more expensive now. They are designed to last longer with preventive maintenance ..

 

Every so often I get a blast of brown rustle looking water then you run it for a few seconds and it clears up. I don't know if they work on the pipes and it gets rust I to the water but otherwise the water is pure pH 7.0 almost no minerals.

 

I second orison - you don't want that on your elements. Don't take pallative "advice" to drink something from someone who can't see it, test it and is just blowing air. Let them drink it.

 

That's just old pipes and it purges. You good.

 

Hm.. you know.... the past few days it's been taking FOREVER for water to heat up enough to get a hot bath. Just yesterday (and yes, water was dirty then too... just not brown, more yellow), I made sure the hot water heater was on, waited 15 mins and it's always hot enough by then and it was just lukewarm. Ended up having to wait almost an hour for super hot water to fill up a bath.
Didn't even think that it could be connected...

 

I have never drained the tank before but when hubby get up today to go to work (3rd shift) I'm gonna talk to him...tell him what you said and look for the hose thing underneath it and see about draining it. Thanks.


Oh and I agree... w her telling me won't hurt me to drink it... I'd like to bring her a glass and see her down that shit. And that's what it looks like, shit water. I saw some in the toilet (after it was flushed) and I thought someone had to take a shit and it didn't flush right or something. Flushed a couple more times and realized the water really is just that brown from everywhere.

 

Sometimes they break pipes screwing around and you get a mud flow. I think they blow people off so they don't have to pay to fix it.

 

Well, I don't even wanna think about if it doesn't get better in a couple days or...ever.

 

Do you have an older home, AT? I lived in a very old house with a well and sometimes the water would run brown and taste mineral-y. Not sure if it was the well water or rusty old pipes.

 

In the country I have seen this more as it is sometimes run off in the spring. I only ever had it once when we lived in Cambridge Ontario and it did a real number on laundry. They were working on flushing the lines and did not notify us ahead. Real nuisance but not really harmful. Looks terrible though and thankfully cleared up within a day.

 

55 bucks every two months with no limitations on how much you use? Thats a fucking bargain if you ask me.

 

To answer questions and respond. Well, first D just got us 36 bottles water for now so hopefully that'll last for a while for drinking, tooth brushing, cooking, etc.

It's not a super old home, or super new. They do flush the lines here once a year. I still really do not know what is going on but talked to my neighbors and stuff and yes, theirs is like that. We are all just gonna drink bottled water and see if it's like that or not tomorrow to know whether or not we should call the water authority back.

Gong, I was just giving an estimate on how much our average water bill is. We pay for the water we use. It's not unlimited. We just usually use about $50-$55 every two months. Shrugs. Last bill says $54.