Brown water in a toilet is likely caused by rusted or corroded pipes, sediment, a blockage in your plumbing line, rusted toilet components, or iron bacteria.
Clogged toilet – if you have a clogged toilet or drain line, the backed-up water can end up leaving a brown stain in your toilet bowl. Use a toilet auger or Epsom salt and hot water to loosen the clog and get it free to flush again.
You could drink it or wash with it. Not to worry, there's nothing dangerous about brown water. But it's still a problem you want to resolve. And it isn't a good look for your porcelain or stainless steel sinks and toilets.
If you notice a sudden change from clear water to murky, brown tap water, it is most likely because of a pressure change in your city's water lines. Typically, these issues resolve themselves within a couple of hours, and it's nothing to be concerned about.
You can eliminate brown water from your home for good by running cold water from your tap for at least 20 minutes. If the water is still brown after this, contact your city's utility provider and request that they flush out the brown water with a fire hydrant. If the problem persists after this, call the professionals.
Typically these problems clear up within a couple of hours, but can take as long as several days to return to normal. In temporary situations like this we recommend not using hot water at all if possible, to keep the discolored water from being drawn into your water heater.
Rusted pipes are the most common reason for brown water in your toilet. Other issues such as polluted municipal city water supply or even corroded wells can also turn toilet water brown. First, test your water. Try soaking your toilet bowl with white vinegar, Use a water filter system or get professional help.
Can I Drink Brown Tap Water? It is best not to assume that brown or other discoloured tap water is safe to drink. While brown tap water is usually not poisonous or severely harmful, it can have an unpleasant taste, smell bad and aesthetically not look very appealing.
This is common when there is a sudden change in the flow of water in the pipeline. Discolored water comes from internal pipe rust and sediment getting stirred up. When this happens the water is still safe. However, the water may be unappealing, so we recommend that you wait until it clears before drinking it.
Dirty or discolored water is often due to a disruption in the water main. When water flows through the pipes faster than normal, natural sediment at the bottom of the pipe can get stirred up.
Brown water can be caused by the corrosion of water pipes as materials flake away and find their way into water supplies, making the water an orange-brown color (from iron pipes) or even black (from lead pipes). Certain elements from sulfur dioxide can cause water to turn brown when combined with hot water.
If there are brown stains, it is probably from iron in your water. If you discover a thick, slimy mess, it is likely from iron bacteria growing in your toilet tank. Iron bacteria is a bacteria that fixes to iron particles in the water.
If you notice discolored or rusty hot water exiting your kitchen sink, this is a sign of rust-coated pipes behind your walls or ceiling. Clean water that runs through deteriorated pipes will discharge a rust-like color.
Vinegar is a great toilet cleaning solution. Not only is it free of chemicals and naturally antibacterial, it's also an acid, so it will remove minor lime and calcium deposits. All you need to do is pour a couple cups of vinegar in your tank and let it sit for an hour or so, then scrub and flush to rinse.
We recommend you add a cup of baking soda to your blocked toilet and wait for some minutes. Next, pour two cups of vinegar slowly into the toilet. Vinegar and baking soda will typically react to form bubbles, so ensure you pour carefully and slowly to prevent the toilet water from overflowing or splashing.
During Florida's stormy season, heavy rainfall can cause well water to start to taste strange or turn cloudy or brown. Well water that changes in color or taste is a sign of contamination, be it from rainwater runoff or septic cross-contamination.
How do you filter out brown water? Depending on the cause, you can filter our brown water by installing a sediment or iron filter, using a water softener, or replacing rusted pipes and hot water heaters.
The main supply line pushes water into smaller pipes that feed all of your water appliances, including your toilet. If a smaller supply pipe that feeds only your toilet is beginning to rust, you'll see red, orange or brownish water in just the toilet.
The toilet tank (sometimes called a toilet cistern) sits above the toilet bowl and is what holds the water ready for you to flush. The water, as we stated above, is normal residential fresh water, so technically speaking, it's clean.
Simply pour a kettle of almost boiling water into the bowl, follow up with 250ml of citric acid, and leave it for some hours – preferably overnight. The next day, scrub and flush. What's good for those caked-on pots and pans after cooking dinner is also good for removing a brown stain on the bottom of the toilet bowl.
Unless you keep your toilet water a constant shade of blue with toilet bowl tablets, your water, after you flush, should be clean and clear. However, for some homeowners, they might start noticing that every time they flush, that clear water now appears to have a brownish or dirty tinge to it.
Clean & White. Unless this is a new toilet, this indicates that your water does NOT have iron, rust, or sediment in it.