Dirty water from the tap: the causes of the phenomenon and

Sometimes utilities that provide water to our house or apartment do not cope with their work, and we have to figure out why rusty water flows from the tap. Naturally, there is no hope for a quick solution of the issue, so everyone should know how to at least partially purify water and make it conditionally suitable for use.

Causes and consequences

Pollution factors

Answers to the question of why yellow water is flowing from the tap or why the liquid has an unpleasant taste / smell may have several:

• First, the problem may lie in the source itself.. If the water intake is from a river, lake or reservoir, then the quality of the water depends on the state of the reservoir. So if a large amount of pollution gets there, for example, when dumping industrial effluents or man-made accidents, no treatment plant will cope.
• However, the water treatment plants themselves are also far from ideal.. If outdated equipment is installed in your area, the result of its work will be unpredictable: today more or less potable water comes from the tap, and tomorrow there is a turbid liquid with a distinct smell of ammonia or hydrogen sulfide.
• Finally, you should not discount the communications themselves. From the water treatment plant to your apartment, the water passes several tens of kilometers through pipes of very different quality, and if the pipelines in the house are rusted, get ready for oxide flakes and unpleasant taste.

Note! If you have a question, why does water not flow from a tap, then this is also the case, most likely, in pipes. As a rule, shutdowns are made either to replace a worn area, or to eliminate an accident.

The actual list of reasons explaining the poor quality of tap water is limited. However, for the adoption of appropriate measures is to figure out what kind of water flows from the tap.

How to identify low quality water

Of course, the water supply enterprises and the sanitary and epidemiological stations should also be involved in determining the quality of water entering homes or apartments. However, it is rather difficult to obtain data from laboratory studies, and the price of expertise in a private company is quite high. So for a rough estimate, it is worth focusing on external signs:

However, these signs are only indirect, and therefore the instructions for identifying the nature of pollution cannot be considered universal. It is advisable to control the composition using laboratory methods, since neither heavy metals nor microorganisms can be determined by hand.

At the same time, the above table can serve as a hint if the deterioration of water quality occurs suddenly. How to act in such a situation - we will tell below.

Ways to solve the problem

Administrative methods

To begin with, we will try to force our people to solve our problem, who should do this on duty. Naturally, you need to know where to complain - if there is rusty water from the tap.

The sequence of actions is as follows:

• As soon as we have yellow water from the tap, we call the management company and demand either to correct the situation or send a master to solve the problem (if it is connected with the pipeline and is local). If your management company is attentive to its responsibilities - the call should be enough.
• If we know that the organization responsible for the maintenance of the house will not be in a hurry - we submit an application in writing. It must indicate the date of commencement of the supply of poor-quality water, and also clearly indicate the requirement to restore normal water supply.
• The next stage is the submission of an application to the Department of Rospotrebnazor dealing with communal hygiene. The application must include full passport details and contact numbers so that you can be contacted to clarify the situation.

Usually this is quite enough. If the water continues to come with a characteristic color or smell, go to court, duplicating statements to the prosecutor's office and the State. Housing inspection.

There are several nuances:

• As grounds we point out Article 29 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Consumer Rights Protection”.
• In the application, we present the requirements to restore the normal flow of water, recalculate the payment and compensate for material damage (if it was caused).

Note! Before the court decision and its entry into force, you must pay at the established tariffs, otherwise your status of non-payer will be used against you in court, and the decision on recalculation or compensation will not be made in your favor.

• If possible, perform a water analysis in a private laboratory and apply the results of the analysis to the treatment.

However, today management companies try not to bring matters to court. But to know how to properly protect your rights, you must be sure!

Handicraft methods

Naturally, while there is a correspondence with the authorities, the yellow water from the tap does not go anywhere. And for its use it is necessary to take measures that will at least partially optimize the composition.

If the problem is not pronounced, we proceed as follows:

• With a favorable epidemiological situation, water can simply be defended.. To do this, pour it into an open container with a wide neck and leave it for at least 5-6 hours (preferably half a day). During this time, chlorine will evaporate from the liquid, and the solids will settle to the bottom.
• Along with settling, boiling can be used.. Heating up to 100⁰C kills most pathogens for several minutes and reduces the concentration of chlorides.

• On the other hand, when boiling water increases the concentration of salts, and formaldehyde is also formed. That is why experts do not recommend boiling water more than once and longer than five minutes, and after boiling they are advised to stand for at least until they cool down completely.

Using Filters

And yet today it is very difficult to imagine a situation in which tap water will be used without passing through the filter - even the simplest.

• For domestic use, the easiest way is to purchase a filter in the form of a jug. Its performance is relatively small, but it is quite simple to use it. The main thing - do not forget to change the cartridges in time, because after the expiration of the life, they will not clean, but rather pollute the water.
• Filters, nozzles on the crane, so popular in recent times, are less effective. They more or less cope with the removal of mechanical particles, but in order to effectively combat organic matter and salts, filter elements should be changed at least once a week.
• Finally, the best solution is to install a filter column that provides multi-stage cleaning. Such systems are quite expensive, but they allow to get relatively clean water in almost any situation.

Conclusion

Having understood what to do - if there is rusty water from the tap, we can prepare for such unpleasant situations. That is why the simplest filter is worth having, even if we have everything in order with the water supply system, and no problems are foreseen (see also the article What to do if the faucet is leaking: fix the problem).

For a more detailed study of this issue is worth watching the video in this article.