Weird plumbing problem

[Howard Pollack]

Every once in a while the water in the toilet, and now the bathroom sink, comes in brown.  If you flush the toilet a couple of times  or run the sink the water comes through clear.  Does anyone know what might be causing this?  Thank you.  -Howard

[Phil Thien]

Well? City water? Type of plumbing?

Need more details.

[Stwood_]

Main lines are maybe galvanized pipe? Rust?

[Snipe Hunter]

Do you have a water treatment system?

[Howard Pollack]

Hi Everyone-  It is well water, plumbing is plastic and copper, there is no water treatment other than an ozonator and a Big-Blue filter.  We've always had a bit of a problem with slightly rusty looking water.  This is way more intense.  Again, thanks.  -Howard

[Snipe Hunter]

Hmm. What's an Ozonator?

Is the grout in the shower stained brown?

So the rust color is probably some sort of iron issue. Have you have your water tested? Is this current problem the same color as the normal rust colored problem? Or a different color?

[fixtureman]

I have seen this when someone put nails or screws in the main water line

[mlincoln]

Is there perhaps a chance you're not getting a complete flush?  We had a very odd toilet problem where every so often it would be a weak flush and some of the poop couldn't make it up over the little hill and then would slowly sink back into the water.  You'd come back a few hours later and find a bit of a brown mess in the bowl.

I might get a bunch of white bowls and fill them from faucets around the house and let them stand and see if you are every now and then getting it from other water sources in the home.

Did you lift the top off the toilet and look inside?  Does the brown come if the toilet hasn't been flushed for a long time and then is flushed?

[Snipe Hunter]

I have seen this when someone put nails or screws in the main water line

I've seen it when head valves and pick-up tube valves go bad on water conditioners. And have read about it after very heavy rains when the well cap leaks and is too close to the ground.

If the stained water is from dissolved iron oxidizing when it hits air in the toilet tank it can be because the water treatment system isn't working or it's insufficient.

I've been trough this and troubleshooting can be difficult because there's a multitude of issues that can cause it. And if it's something that isn't very common, researching it can be hard.

[daddo]

Must be iron pipe or metal somewhere.