Why Is My Water Brown, Rusty or Yellow?

What it usually looks like

• Water runs brown or yellow first thing in the morning, then clears
• Only the hot water is discolored
• Orange or brown stains in toilets, tubs and the dishwasher
• Black or dark gray flecks in the water, or a slick black film on fixtures
• A metallic taste, or laundry coming out with rust-colored streaks
• Discoloration started suddenly after utility work in the street or a hydrant flush

Likely causes, most common first

1. Iron and manganese in well water

   Groundwater across Mason County and the rural edges of Kitsap passes through iron-rich glacial deposits. Dissolved iron comes out of the tap clear and turns rusty once it hits air, which is why a glass of water goes orange sitting on the counter. Manganese stains black. Both are common enough here that we treat for them nearly every week.

2. A rusting water heater tank

   The glass lining inside a tank water heater eventually cracks, and the sacrificial anode rod that protects the steel gets used up. From then on the tank rusts, and the hot side carries that rust to every fixture. If the brown water is only hot, this is where to look, and the heater is usually near replacement.

3. Old galvanized steel pipe

   Homes built before the mid 1970s near the shipyard, in older Port Orchard and in Tacoma's older neighborhoods often still have galvanized supply pipe. It rusts from the inside, narrowing the pipe and shedding flakes whenever water pressure changes. The discoloration is worst at the fixtures on the longest galvanized runs.

4. Municipal main flushing or a main break

   Utilities flush hydrants to clear sediment from the mains, and a break or repair stirs up everything settled in the pipe. Water from Port Orchard, Bremerton, Silverdale and Kitsap PUD systems can run brown for a few hours afterward. This clears on its own and is not a problem with your home.

5. Sediment stirred up in the pressure tank or water heater

   Both tanks collect sediment at the bottom. A pump that just started short cycling, or a heater that has not been flushed in years, can send that sediment through the house when flow surges.

Safe things to check yourself first

• Run cold water only at a bathroom sink for two minutes. If it clears, the discoloration is in your plumbing or heater, not the source.
• Compare hot and cold at the same faucet. Brown hot and clear cold points straight at the water heater.
• Lift the toilet tank lid. Orange staining means iron; black means manganese; reddish slime means iron bacteria.
• If you are on city water, check the utility's website or call to see whether they are flushing mains or had a break in your area.
• Look at the sediment filter housing if you have one. A cartridge that goes orange within weeks tells you how much iron you are dealing with.
• Note when it happens. First thing in the morning points to water sitting in old pipe overnight; after heavy use points to a disturbed tank.

How we diagnose and fix it

• Test the water at the source and at a far fixture for iron, manganese, hardness and pH so we are treating the real cause.
• Inspect the water heater, check the anode rod and flush the tank; when the tank itself is rusting, we tell you plainly that it is time to replace it.
• Trace discolored branches to galvanized piping and give you the option of replacing the worst runs or a full PEX repipe that ends the problem for good.
• Install the right filtration for the water: a sediment filter for flakes and sand, an iron and manganese filter or air-injection system for well water, and a Cascadian or Halo whole-house system where the chemistry calls for it.
• Clean out the pressure tank tee and pressure switch on wells, since iron sludge in those is often the first sign of a bigger iron problem.
• Recommend a lab test through Kitsap or Mason County when the well's safety is in question, and size treatment to the results.

Questions people ask