Black sludge in faucet - where to start?

[elfaye11]

Greetings! I recently noticed some black sludge oozing from the bathtub faucet in my master bath. It was initially a slow leakage, resulting in black spots around the drain. When I ran a bath, the sludge was pushed out of the faucet. There also appears to be corrosion inside the faucet. See photos below.

The house was built in 1996 and has the original plumbing/fixtures. I'm a new homeowner and am wondering where to start with this. Replace the faucet? Contact my water supplier? Time to call a plumber?

Thanks for any and all help on this

Laura
Austin,TX

 

[Matt30]

Judging by the corrosion of your tub spout, you are in need of a water treatment device. If you already have one, it may need service, something isn't quite right there!

I don't work with water conditioners, but I think a few others here do, hopefully they can chime in

 

[speedbump]

Are you on city water or on a well? Do you have any filtration, or have you ever had your water tested?

 

[elfaye11]

We haven't had our water tested, but we are in a Municipal Utility District (MUD). I found the Drinking Water Quality Report (2012) online, not really sure how to interpret, though. Attached the report in separate JPGs due to file size limits.

Thanks, everyone!!

 

[speedbump]

Wow, they don't mess around when they do a water test. I wouldn't worry about the water as far as contamination goes. The black could be simply some form of Algae that has formed on the inside of the spout. Put a little bit of household bleach in a spray bottle, squirt some up into the spout and I'll bet it will go away.

 

[havasu]

I'm on city water and occasionally will get that black gunk on the faucet lips during certain times of the year. I chalk it up to algae forming in the reservoirs.

 

[Matt30]

Never saw anything like that on city water before. Here, the water supply is chlorinated once a week. Does that not happen down there?

 

[havasu]

Yes, we get chlorine added to our water supply, but the reservoirs still have algae sometimes.

 

[KULTULZ]

Maybe an exorcist?

I don't think I would want to drink from that source...

Is the sludge anywhere else, such as inside the toilet tank?

Municipal water systems are not always as described. You may be on a branch line that needs flushing or as was happening in suburban MD, the water inlet was on the Potomac River and at low tide would suck up some nasty stuff.