black stuff / debris in bath water

[mlincoln]

About 6 to 8 months ago my wife began to complain that when she drew the bath water she would get specks of black material in the water. The specks were about 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter / on a side, and if you smeared them against the bottom of the tub they would smear like old rubber. There were maybe 5 flecks per tub. I went to a big box store and the fellow in the bath aisle said replacing the cartridge in the faucet would fix the problem. Quite honestly I didn't think he was correct, but I switched it out. The problem seemed to slightly diminish afterwards, a few flecks here and there, and we just sort of ignored it.

Tonight we got a LARGE amount of flecks, like 30 or 40 flecks. Tonight the flecks were much larger than before. I emptied the tub and refilled it, and again it spurted out a lot of flecks.

About 5 years ago I replaced the water heater, and instead of putting in new copper pipe--I don't know how to join copper pipe--I used flexible hoses with rubber seals. I wonder if what I am seeing is those seals dissolving.

Does anybody have any idea what this could be? Is it mildew inside the pipes?

Thank you for any info you can provide.

[blackhat]

I would be shutting off the water and pulling one of those hoses to inspect it. You may be collecting the same crud in the aerater screens on your other faucets.

[Robert Adams]

I have had similar stuff come from the water heater. It was chunks of goo off the anode rod. Had to replace it with a different type due to the type of water there. Have also seen it with galvanized water pipes but usually they seem to just gunk up on the inside and keep getting smaller over time like cast iron drain pipes.

[blackhat]

Could be but that material is usually hard and or crunchy. This smears.

[Bob10]

I had a water heater from a batch that eventually got recalled as the anode came apart and clogged up faucets and shower heads. The customer spent a few grand with a plumber before I came in and called the water dept and the guy that came out told me what it was.

If you want to change the lines with copper but don't know how to sweat pipe shark bites will get it done and more than one way depending on your needs
http://www.sharkbite.com/product-categor...bite-kits/
and there are these

[Lynden]

I had the same problem -- black specks that would smear if you pressed down on one of them and slid your finger along the bottom of the bathtub. The plumber came out and said it was either organic or it was coming from the water heater dip tube (magnesium or something). He wanted to replace the water heater for $1300. I drained the water heater into a white 5-gallon bucket, one bucket at a time, and there were no black specks in the water or sediment. The specks looked like deteriorating rubber, so I checked the faucet washers at the tub. They were OK. I next checked the flexible copper supply lines at the water heater. The black rubber washers on the hot water line were hard and breaking apart. I replaced the line and that solved the problem. I later found a lot of information online.

https://www.google.com/search?q=black+sp...my+bathtub

[Snipe Hunter]

Lynden said:

---

The plumber came out and said it was either organic or it was coming from the water heater dip tube

---

I believe you might be thinking about the sacrificial anode, that would be magnesium.

To the OP

Are you maintaining the water heater regularly by draining it?

You could attach a hose to the water-heater drain and run it into a 5 gallon bucket to see what kind of stuff is sitting in the bottom of your water heater.

The dip tube doesn't pick up water from the bottom of the tank (assuming it's electric). The water isn't very hot there. It would be hot in a gas heater. It picks usually up water a couple feet up. So, if the black stuff is coming out of the water heater, it's probably suspended in the water.

If you drain more than a few gallons, make sure you turn off the heat. If you drain it completely, refilling it may cause turbidity from splashing inside the tank so be aware that you might have to let it flush out of a (non screened) faucet like a tub or better yet a utility sink.

Also, you might want to unscrew a screen from a bathroom or kitchen faucet to see if there's any build-up of the black stuff. .... I'm surprised they aren't clogging.

This won't fix anything but it might give you a better idea of what to do next.

[WoodworkerTom]

Could be mildew growing in the tub spout. Unscrew it and clean it out.

[tomsteve]

do you live in flint,mi?

anything from the other faucets?
city or well water?

[daddo]

In this old house, if we didn't have a few black specs, I'd get worried.