moving out copper supply lines
Question:
My house has a well but the previous owner didn't think a whole house water filter was necessary. When moving a supply line I noticed there is a thin film of brownish sludge on the bottom of the pipe. The WHWF is going on soon but is there anything that can be flushed down the supply lines to remove the sludge?
Answer:
_Don't put anything in there. Don't wash out the water heater with clorox or
do any other wierd, creative stuff to your plumbing. If you got crap in
your pipes, put in new pipes! Water companies and municipalities all over
the country go to great lengths to make sure they don't poison the public.
Only you can prevent yourself from poisoning yourself!
_Are you on your own well water or 'city' water? The sludge could be from
iron in the water but usually the whole inside of the tubing will be coated
with iron present. Dirty city water may be allowing some settling out
causing the sludge. In either case it is not a problem unless you see dirty
water.
You could add bleach to the housing and run it through the lines pausing for
about ten minutes after you smell bleach in a glass at all fixtures. Then
run water for about ten seconds and pause for ten minutes. Keep repeating
until you can not smell bleach anymore and then flush each fixture for a few
minutes before using the water. If the process works you'll see dirty water
the first time or two you run the water for the 10 secs.. If it doesn't
clear up after 2-3 times then add more bleach and repeat until it does run
clear. Do not use any water while the bleach is present and don't forget
outside faucets, toilets and the washing machine. After all the bleach is
gone draw water into the washer and then put it in spin and get rid of the
bleach water and any dirt.
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