Every week or so, I turn on my bath faucet (hot water side) and an greyish-blackish oily discharge comes out, then clear hot water. I had this now 4 year old hot water heater disconnected overnight by a plumber who moved it a few feet away to allow AC lines to be installed. Then the gas fired water heater was returned to its place. The plumber also replaced the turn off water valve as it was frozen. He also connected the overflow pipe to drain that the original homeowner never bothered doing. Yes, our area also had a junction water line repaired that required shutting off our water for 12 hours to allow the glue to dry after the fix. I can't decide if it was my moving my water heater that is causing this, or if the plumber left to much flux while soldering, or if its related to the water pipe repair. The tank was moved well over a year ago for the AC lines install, yet it's STILL OCCURRING! If you think my problem is unique, read this post because it's exactly my situation. The reply he got from 5 plumbers had no definitive explanation.
"Approximately every 2-3 weeks, generally when I am about to take a hot shower, the hot water comes out of my faucet with a black discharge... it looks like soot, but seems more oily. It's been going on for about 5 years... I've asked numerous plumbers and they have no idea what it could be. Last year - during a repair, a plumber noticed that the backflow valve from my boiler wasn't installed and supposedly fixed that ... and we thought that would resolve the problem. It didn't. Several other plumbers said that it was my hot water heater breaking down and I needed a new one.
About a month ago I came home to find my hot water leaking heavily from the release valve so I turned it off and decided it was time to go ahead and replace it (it's about 14 years old) - thinking that it would also correct the discharge problem. Lo and behold - two days ago... black discharge in my hot water..."
ANY IDEAS, please reply with informed suggestions, not total guesses.
Thanks!
"Approximately every 2-3 weeks, generally when I am about to take a hot shower, the hot water comes out of my faucet with a black discharge... it looks like soot, but seems more oily. It's been going on for about 5 years... I've asked numerous plumbers and they have no idea what it could be. Last year - during a repair, a plumber noticed that the backflow valve from my boiler wasn't installed and supposedly fixed that ... and we thought that would resolve the problem. It didn't. Several other plumbers said that it was my hot water heater breaking down and I needed a new one.
About a month ago I came home to find my hot water leaking heavily from the release valve so I turned it off and decided it was time to go ahead and replace it (it's about 14 years old) - thinking that it would also correct the discharge problem. Lo and behold - two days ago... black discharge in my hot water..."
ANY IDEAS, please reply with informed suggestions, not total guesses.
Thanks!
