Today I drained my moms water heater and it took several attempts to try and drain the water. The faucet was clogged with sentiment. After it finally started going, it was draining blue water with white crystal chunks. Wondering if this is normal or if I should be concerned with a potential problem.
Water heater draining blue crystals
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I think it is hard to say for now whether this is a normal amount of solid material accumulating for a very long time versus some abnormality that caused a large buildup.
I trust that after not too long the water ran clear.
If you drain a small amount of water every 6 months the water should run clear after about a half gallon and you should not have the valve at the bottom of the tank clog up.
If you turn off the water supply and drain any significant amount of water then you need to shut down the water heater heat first. Then turn on the water and wait for water to gush from an open faucet upstairs for a minute before turning the water heater back on.
I trust that after not too long the water ran clear.
If you drain a small amount of water every 6 months the water should run clear after about a half gallon and you should not have the valve at the bottom of the tank clog up.
If you turn off the water supply and drain any significant amount of water then you need to shut down the water heater heat first. Then turn on the water and wait for water to gush from an open faucet upstairs for a minute before turning the water heater back on.
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That was my first thought to Gregzoll, beads from a softener, and that would be an issue.
Flushing out a water heater does not involve shutting off the water or the heater.
Just open up the valve on the bottom of the heater for about 10 min.
Flushing out a water heater does not involve shutting off the water or the heater.
Just open up the valve on the bottom of the heater for about 10 min.
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Our water pressure from the kitchen faucet was slow so I took the faucet head off and shockingly found these blue crystals in the back of the strainer. The bldg, was newly constructed in 2015. Then I took some water samples and found these crystals floating around, it almost feels like grains of salt. Did some research on the web and it points to copper pipe corrosion (due to ph level of 8.5 or below 7) or residue from water heater, we don't use water heater since no one uses the shower. Already contacted the Board of Water Supply but Seeking any advice.
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(It’s generally a good idea to start a new thread since many users on the site will ignore threads that started years ago but have recent activity)
Copper prices have been high for a while now, so it’s more likely that your 2015 built building (house, condo?) uses something other than that for the majority of its piping.
I thought that your comment about not using the HWT was a bit odd until I looked at your username. If that gives a clue to your location, I’m curious what kind of water heater you have. If it’s an “on demand” tankless type, then I don’t see any issues with "not using it". On the other hand, if you’ve got a standard HW tank which the water flows through, it really is “in use” even if there is no propane/electricity being used to heat the water. If the tank location is such that you’ve got a large stagnant tank of water at temperatures that promote microbial activity, I’d be a bit concerned. Similarly, an unheated tank filled with water will still be corroding. Do you see the “blue crystals” in any water supply pipe that supplies only cold water? The cold water hose to a washer would likely have a filter, so would be a good place to understand if this was an issue with the hot water supply.
Chris
Copper prices have been high for a while now, so it’s more likely that your 2015 built building (house, condo?) uses something other than that for the majority of its piping.
I thought that your comment about not using the HWT was a bit odd until I looked at your username. If that gives a clue to your location, I’m curious what kind of water heater you have. If it’s an “on demand” tankless type, then I don’t see any issues with "not using it". On the other hand, if you’ve got a standard HW tank which the water flows through, it really is “in use” even if there is no propane/electricity being used to heat the water. If the tank location is such that you’ve got a large stagnant tank of water at temperatures that promote microbial activity, I’d be a bit concerned. Similarly, an unheated tank filled with water will still be corroding. Do you see the “blue crystals” in any water supply pipe that supplies only cold water? The cold water hose to a washer would likely have a filter, so would be a good place to understand if this was an issue with the hot water supply.
Chris
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