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Ok here's a weird one i'm having with my water supply. Over a year ago I started developing a lot of white dusty flakes on my washing that, when washed and dried (hang/radiator/tumble) would fly off in their masses and coat my room in dust. I have to dust 2-3 times a week or the furniture is covered. This all came slightly out of the blue, and seemed quite random. About a year prior to that, I had renovated my bathroom and had pipework re-done, but nothing that was immediately apparent to water quality change.
I took the problem head on recently and approached my water supplier (SES water) with the complaints. A nice gentleman came round and had a look, left me with a bottle to capture samples in should the problem not go away - his explanation was that there could be debris in the mains pipes that just needs flushing out over a couple days/weeks.
The problem didn't go away and I captured a sample and sent it to SES water who analysed it in their lab and came back with..
"After filtration, minute fragments of soft plastic similar to clingfilm were observed.
Clingfilm type products are not found in drinking water supplies. This, combined with the fact that SES water hafve not received any reports from neighbouring properties regarding the same issue may suggest that the source of the particles is within the property itself."
They've suggested checking pipework for tape used on fittings or valves - or straight up replacing check valves. But where the hell does clingfilm type particles enter my water? I'm on the first floor (maisonette) and my shower is the first thing off the mains pipe. The particles are visible in water samples taken from there, too. So how can it not be coming in from the mains? Can water get backwashed from something? Did I wash some plastic in my washing machine and it's forever floating around my pipes leaking into the drinking water for the past year? Mildly concerned that i'm swallowing plastic everyday...
Link to some water in a glass bowl held up to my light for the curious (shows quite a lot of these plastic flakes): https://youtu.be/zWFr7exupp4
I took the problem head on recently and approached my water supplier (SES water) with the complaints. A nice gentleman came round and had a look, left me with a bottle to capture samples in should the problem not go away - his explanation was that there could be debris in the mains pipes that just needs flushing out over a couple days/weeks.
The problem didn't go away and I captured a sample and sent it to SES water who analysed it in their lab and came back with..
"After filtration, minute fragments of soft plastic similar to clingfilm were observed.
Clingfilm type products are not found in drinking water supplies. This, combined with the fact that SES water hafve not received any reports from neighbouring properties regarding the same issue may suggest that the source of the particles is within the property itself."
They've suggested checking pipework for tape used on fittings or valves - or straight up replacing check valves. But where the hell does clingfilm type particles enter my water? I'm on the first floor (maisonette) and my shower is the first thing off the mains pipe. The particles are visible in water samples taken from there, too. So how can it not be coming in from the mains? Can water get backwashed from something? Did I wash some plastic in my washing machine and it's forever floating around my pipes leaking into the drinking water for the past year? Mildly concerned that i'm swallowing plastic everyday...
Link to some water in a glass bowl held up to my light for the curious (shows quite a lot of these plastic flakes): https://youtu.be/zWFr7exupp4
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