Hi there. I am hoping this forum can help shed some light on a big mystery I am having that is driving me absolutely bananas! For about 6 months I’ve been seeing tiny black specs in the dual sinks in our master bath. They are ONLY in these two sinks in the house. I did hours of internet research and discovered a high possibility these specs were being caused by deteriorating rubber gaskets since our municipal water supply uses chloramine.
I had our plumber come out and he first replaced all the flex connection hoses in the house since those were likely to be the culprit. He also flushed the hot water heater and did not find excessive sediment or any other issues. The black specs continued so our plumber came out again and replaced the water supply pressure valve which was original and almost 20 years old and showed lots of black rubber deterioration on the inside. We were sure that would solve the problem but no, the specs continued.
I then bought two new faucets for the dual sinks and had the faucets, handles and drains replaced thinking that HAD to solve the problem. But no, the specs are still coming!!! I’m at a complete loss of what to do. I’ve had the water company out and they even flushed their side of the water line and saw no issues.
Based on my research the only other thing I think it could be is the anode rod in the water heater but the specs are not magnetic and they feel rubbery (although they are very tiny). They also come out when the cold water is running which makes me think it is not related to the hot water heater. The black specs do not come out every time the faucet is turned on and generally stop after 30 seconds or so. I feel like we’ve replaced all the rubber gaskets in the house so I have no idea how to solve this. Please HELP me figure out what is going on. I want my sinks back!
I had our plumber come out and he first replaced all the flex connection hoses in the house since those were likely to be the culprit. He also flushed the hot water heater and did not find excessive sediment or any other issues. The black specs continued so our plumber came out again and replaced the water supply pressure valve which was original and almost 20 years old and showed lots of black rubber deterioration on the inside. We were sure that would solve the problem but no, the specs continued.
I then bought two new faucets for the dual sinks and had the faucets, handles and drains replaced thinking that HAD to solve the problem. But no, the specs are still coming!!! I’m at a complete loss of what to do. I’ve had the water company out and they even flushed their side of the water line and saw no issues.
Based on my research the only other thing I think it could be is the anode rod in the water heater but the specs are not magnetic and they feel rubbery (although they are very tiny). They also come out when the cold water is running which makes me think it is not related to the hot water heater. The black specs do not come out every time the faucet is turned on and generally stop after 30 seconds or so. I feel like we’ve replaced all the rubber gaskets in the house so I have no idea how to solve this. Please HELP me figure out what is going on. I want my sinks back!
