Soil/mud buildup in washing machine and attic tank

FrinkDink

I had to replace my old, leaking washing machine today, and when I pulled it away, there was a large buildup of brown gunk underneath which I found out (using the old nose) was mud. Clothes (towels particularly) were smelling horrendous for a long time, and there had been a lot of filthy looking buildup inside the machine as well.
As well as this, I have to clean my attic tank every six months or so, due to the pile up of soil in that too! The drinking water looks pretty clear, that is until you fill up the sink with it and it has a yellow/green colour off it. I live in Cabinteely, in Dublin, so my water shouldn't be doing this, I mean its treated and chlorinated by the powers that be, and I've not heard any complaints from neighbours.
Could it be something to do with how the mains water is carried into my house, busted pipe somewhere along the line? I just don't know what to do, or who to ask about this.

wyndham

South Dublin County Council will test the water for you if you have concerns about it or you could get a private company to analyse it.

old boy

a leak on a joint on the mains, happens all the time, the muds been sucked in by the force of the water passing through, the powers that be will fix it for free, the ind op will fit a thingy and charge you plenty

FrinkDink

old boy wrote:

a leak on a joint on the mains, happens all the time, the muds been sucked in by the force of the water passing through, the powers that be will fix it for free, the ind op will fit a thingy and charge you plenty

Who would I call, the county council? I doubt they would fix it, as I can't really specify what they should fix, as I can't quite see it. In any case, isn't all that the responsibility of the householder? We've had awful trouble with the water for years, but could never really pin it down. But the accumulated muck under the heavy duty kitchen appliances surely nails it. Where should I look for the leak though, it could well be outside the house.

tapest

You don't have to look for the leak. The council will listen for it(the guys are called turncocks) If the problem is before your street valve ( not on the house side) the do it for nil. Ring them anyway, usually very helpful
t

FrinkDink

The plumbing under the sink and behind the appliances looks a little suspect... but there is a strong 'earthy' odour coming from there, its just difficult to know why this is happening, I doubt the council will find any leak outside as this would surely affect not just me but the surrounding houses and they have not complained.
The bottom of the attic tank fills up with brown sediment after only a few months, but this is something I cannot say to the council because it isnt their responsibility. I just hope something is discovered as its driving me to distraction. If the council finds nothing, should I then call a plumber to examine the plumbing in the kitchen?

tapest

FrinkDink wrote:

The plumbing under the sink and behind the appliances looks a little suspect... but there is a strong 'earthy' odour coming from there, its just difficult to know why this is happening, I doubt the council will find any leak outside as this would surely affect not just me but the surrounding houses and they have not complained.
The bottom of the attic tank fills up with brown sediment after only a few months, but this is something I cannot say to the council because it isnt their responsibility. I just hope something is discovered as its driving me to distraction. If the council finds nothing, should I then call a plumber to examine the plumbing in the kitchen?

FD
Calm the feck down, will ya. Catch your breath. Relax man. chill out man!!

Kitchen plumbing: Pipework under sink....you mean the mains ie the feed to header tank + cold sink tap. If this pipe surround in floor is sealed, ie no great gaping hole in floor...then it's OK unless it's leaking.
Header tank in attic: you will get some brown slime / sludge after a while because it's stagnant water almost. Any impurities that are carried up to tank with water under pressure will "drop out" when water slows down as in a tank. Unless very heavy it's OK too.
Still concerned ?? Yep ? take a sample from flow into tank, Not from tank itself (lower water in tank first). Take a second sample from cold sink tap in kitchen. Keep samples separate in glass bottles with screw tops. Leave bottles un-disturbed on shelf and see what, if anything, fall out to bottom after a few days. If water is obviously brown when taking samples, I refer to previous poster re pipe main leak in your area. If work was carried out by council in your area, it's common for clay to get in pipe and it takes a little time for it to clear.
You're probably worried about nothing. Boil drinking water to make you feel better.Another reason to take samples and leave for days is you might just slow down and prevent a heart attack...Relax
If after all that you're still not happy...and you won't be then ring the bl**dy Council...they don't bite. and tell them I called you a Hypochondriac. They'll probably laugh WITH you and tell you if there was work done in area etc
t

FrinkDink

tapest wrote:

FD
Calm the feck down, will ya. Catch your breath. Relax man. chill out man!!

Kitchen plumbing: Pipework under sink....you mean the mains ie the feed to header tank + cold sink tap. If this pipe surround in floor is sealed, ie no great gaping hole in floor...then it's OK unless it's leaking.
Header tank in attic: you will get some brown slime / sludge after a while because it's stagnant water almost. Any impurities that are carried up to tank with water under pressure will "drop out" when water slows down as in a tank. Unless very heavy it's OK too.
Still concerned ?? Yep ? take a sample from flow into tank, Not from tank itself (lower water in tank first). Take a second sample from cold sink tap in kitchen. Keep samples separate in glass bottles with screw tops. Leave bottles un-disturbed on shelf and see what, if anything, fall out to bottom after a few days. If water is obviously brown when taking samples, I refer to previous poster re pipe main leak in your area. If work was carried out by council in your area, it's common for clay to get in pipe and it takes a little time for it to clear.
You're probably worried about nothing. Boil drinking water to make you feel better.Another reason to take samples and leave for days is you might just slow down and prevent a heart attack...Relax
If after all that you're still not happy...and you won't be then ring the bl**dy Council...they don't bite. and tell them I called you a Hypochondriac. They'll probably laugh WITH you and tell you if there was work done in area etc
t

Hmmm... so I see you're a smarmy git. This ain't just occurred in the last little bit, its been like this for a long time, as I said before, and it seems to be an acute problem not easily detected. Hypochondriac? I don't believe I have any illness/disease which is not present in my system, but cheers for the accusation. It seems you in fact need to chill the f*ck out, as my household water concerns didn't merit your little character assassination, under the guise of giving me advice, with a dollop of freakin' sarcasm.
I've dealt with the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown before on this, and while they don't bite as you say... what they WILL do is fcuk all. Water is important to everyone, and nobody wants it contaminated by the mains distribution system. I've lived elsewhere in Dublin, and never had any problems. So in my last post I was just trying to confirm with people who might know about such matters if I had any decent options with this damn problem.