Orange flow coming from the faucet, hardly anyone is surprised anymore. This phenomenon often occurs to residents of apartment buildings, in areas where the pipes were laid many years ago. But even though it is a common occurrence, rusty tap water poses a considerable health hazard. It is forbidden to use it for drinking and domestic purposes (washing dishes, bathing, etc.). Moreover, it causes significant damage to household appliances (dishwashers and washing machines). If the appearance of rusty water is a single case, you should not worry too much. But if it occurs on a regular basis, it is necessary to take urgent measures to solve the problem.
Why It Happens
There are several possible causes:
Severe temporal blowdown of the pipes responsible for the water supply. Unfortunately, not all neighborhoods and cities are equally provided with a new pipe system. Many are forced to make do with what was installed a long time ago
Precipitation that accumulates in the water and provokes the accumulation of rust. Also, foreign impurities, soil and debris in the pipeline can change the color.
Poor cleaning quality. Before the water flow reaches people, it is pre-cleaned from impurities of metal particles. If this does not happen, then the person receives poor quality water with an orange tint.
Planned repair or preventive maintenance, emergency situation. Employees of the utility service must check the wear and tear of the pipes every year. If they establish the need to replace them, the water pipeline will be temporarily shut off. After such manipulation, due to stagnation, a small amount of rust may accumulate, which will be the first time after start-up.
Improper storage of pipes before installation.
The above causes are typical for residential buildings located within the city. On suburban plots or in country cottages, water is taken by pipes from a well or borehole, or more precisely, from the underground water-bearing soil, rivers. These natural sources may contain a large number of impurities that can be the cause of water leaks in the pipes and their detection. This is due to natural processes occurring in the ground and the harmful emissions of various enterprises.
Where does it come from.
It is important to remember that to understand why brown water comes from the tap and where to go can only a specialist who will conduct a thorough diagnosis and send a sample of water for a more detailed study of its composition in the laboratory. Do not immediately blame the city water system or think about the accumulation of large amounts of rust in the pipe lumen. There is a good chance that the problem is the immediate water source, where the water resources are taken from to meet people’s needs. More often than not, they contain a lot of divalent iron, oxidized in the process of moving the water to the faucet. But one should not exclude the presence of various bacterial microorganisms in the system that contribute to the oxidation of Fe to the highest valence oxides.
Can you drink rusty water?
The quality of water and the permissible number of iron in it – a maximum of 0.3 mg / L. The human eye does not detect these 0,3 mg, so the water seems to us colorless and transparent, which is why it is safely used for cooking, washing dishes and drinking (preferably after pre-boiling). If this index increases, its use is prohibited. If it exceeds this value only slightly (0.4 to 0.8 mg/l), the water acquires a yellow tint. This quality is enough to wash dishes, but under the condition of preliminary sedimentation as follows: fill a free container (preferably glass, so will be visible sediment), sediment for 3 hours and poured into another container (without shaking).
If the color has changed to orange or brown, then using it for any purpose will be dangerous to health, and can cause significant damage to household appliances. Boiling, sedimentation and other methods of purification will be ineffective, so it is better to refuse to use such water. Ignoring these safety rules is fraught with the risk of heart attack, liver, kidney, gastrointestinal tract damage, immune system collapse, the appearance of headaches. There is also the threat of tissue degeneration, that is, cancer.
It is strongly recommended to refrain from using contaminated water stream for any hygienic procedures. Bathing, shampooing or brushing teeth in such conditions is fraught with skin pigmentation, hair loss, brittle nail plate and deterioration of tooth enamel. This is by no means a complete list of the problems a person who ignores safety rules can face.
