Red Tap Water

Vixen

Vixen

Vixen

Soldato
Joined
23 Feb 2004
Posts
6,941
Location
Edinburgh
I have had this problem for a long time, possibly the whole 4 years I have lived in my flat, but I'm starting to wonder if it may be the cause of a long-term illness so I want to do something about it.
The water from all the taps in my flat looks normal, but if it's left on anything, the surface turns red. My cats drink out of the bath tap (they won't drink out of a bowl :rolleyes:) and a huge red/orange mark appears where the water has touched the side of the bath. The same happens around the drains of the sinks if I don't clean them regularly, and under the drying rack in the kitchen is also stained.

I've lived here with two different people, and neither of them have had similar symptoms to me, but they also didn't drink anything like as much as I do. I don't like fizzy juice and can't drink milk, so the only things I can drink contain water, and on average I have around 4l of tap water a day. I would try changing to bottled, but since I'm not working due to illness, I really can't afford to do it for the length of time I would need to test properly.

Does anyone know why my water is red, and what I can do about it? I assume it's probably some type of pipe erosion and since it's red it may be iron?
 
Not sure why it would be like that - but possibly worth investing in a Brita jug for the fridge and a (far more costly) way is to have bigger filters put actually on the taps which filter the kitchen taps.

The Brita jugs are a god send though - my mum has one at home, and it does make water, tea and coffee taste cleaner and clearer.

Rich
 
Sounds like a bit of rust maybe from a old pipe? If it's a rented place I'd talk to the landlord about it, if he does not work it out maybe contact the local council and see if they can direct you to the department to talk to. I'm sure it would be against some sort of health and safety regulation.
 
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Could be rust in the pipes.

You see it a lot in older houses, Even if the water is clear if a tap is dripping by the next day you will have a red/brown line where the water was hitting
 
ask your water supplier? they may need to test it as i think they would be liable if it was posioning you
 
titchard said:
Not sure why it would be like that - but possibly worth investing in a Brita jug for the fridge and a (far more costly) way is to have bigger filters put actually on the taps which filter the kitchen taps.

The Brita jugs are a god send though - my mum has one at home, and it does make water, tea and coffee taste cleaner and clearer.

Rich
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I have a Brita jug, but I stopped using it because bits of the carbon filter were getting in to the "clean" water, and I figured it they got through then it probably wasn't working properly.

EDIT: People suggesting rust - would it be dangerous at the levels where it's not visable in water but with the amount I'm consuming?
 
http://www.water-research.net/iron.htm

That site of any help?

Iron will cause reddish-brown staining of laundry, porcelain, dishes, utensils and even glassware. Manganese acts in a similar way but causes a brownish-black stain. Soaps and detergents do not remove these stains, and use of chlorine bleach and alkaline builders (such as sodium and carbonate) may intensify the stains.
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Vixen said:
EDIT: People suggesting rust - would it be dangerous at the levels where it's not visable in water but with the amount I'm consuming?
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If it's dangerous or not I'd get it sorted out. I'm sure some won't hurt but drinking a sustained amount does not sound like a good idea to me.
 
maybe your the second coming of jesus and your doing water to wine / water to blood without knowing it

maybe god is displeased have u noticed any other plagues locusts, fire from the skies, boils????
 
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Vixen said:
It's bright red though, not brown, and it appears on surfaces that are kept clean (at the very least hosed down with water regularly)
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Can you get us a picture?

There must be someone you can contact who will test if the water is safe.
I would phone the water supplier up and see what they say.
 
Ye get some one in to test it!

Sorry but I dont know how you could justify 4years of drinking from water that is obviously not the same as what everyone else is drinking, and you don't know what it is?
 
its not rust as some have stated as water pipes are either alcathene or old ones lead.....id get in touch with your water supply, could indicate iron/maganese
 
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When i went to Edinburgh at Christmas last year the first thing i noticed about the place was that all of the water had a reddy brown tinge to it. I spoke to my Boss who is a Scot, about it and he said it was the same when he lived up there years ago.
 
TheCrow said:
Ye get some one in to test it!

Sorry but I dont know how you could justify 4years of drinking from water that is obviously not the same as what everyone else is drinking, and you don't know what it is?
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I didn't know who to contact about it or if anything could even be done, and as I said above, I've tried using a Brita filter.

Just been on the phone to the water company, who rather helpfully said that if no-one else in my area has complained then there clearly isn't a problem. I finally convinced him to get someone to come out and test the supply outside, but apparantly any feed into the building is the responsibility of the owners, which is great news as out of 4 flats, I'm the only owner-occupier :(.

I took a photo of the bath, this is how it looks even when we've tried to scrub it clean, the stain just won't go away. The whole bath is hosed down with water every time I shower, so it's not as if I'm just not cleaning it at all.
www.siobhanc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/tap.jpg
 
it could always turn out to be the substance scientists have tried to find to find for years - the root cause of ginger!
 
platypus said:
It's been going on for four years and you haven't yet phoned the water company about it?
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i totally agree! i'd have been straight on the phone, especially if i suspected that it was making me ill. either contact the water company or the council environmental health department.

water pipes can be any of the following materials:
ductile iron
uPVC
Cast iron
asbestos cement
steel
polyethylene

it generally depends on the age and size that dictates the type of pipe. all modern pipes are certified to ensure that they do not encourage the growth of harmful bacteria and contain no materials that are likely to dissolve (WRAS standards i believe).
 
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