Orange tap water metallic flakes

Wiggles88

Hey I'm hoping someone can help me. I recently moved into a second hand house (20years old) with a well. Got a water test when I first moved in and all was good but after about 8 months the pump died and then a few days later the treatment all died. Both are replaced now, the pump straight away but the treatment was fixed 2 months later.

Now when I try my taps the water is orange and there's these little metallic flakes in the water. I looked at the filter on the UV lamp of the new treatment and the water there seems clear so it looks like the issue is after that.

I'm afraid that 2 months without treatment killed my pipes. I've looked online for ways to clean them out but all I get is advise to run the taps for a while but I've tried that for hours and the water does go clearer for a while (lighter yellow) but eventually the orange returns.

Are my pipes gone? Is there anything I can do to fix this?

Lenar3556

Sounds like steel or cast iron corrosion. But I would expect that to clear relatively quickly when you run the tap. If it’s still present after hours, I would be thinking more about the well source itself.

But I’m no expert on wells. Maybe call the guys who have done the work previously and see have they any advice.

I don’t think lack of treatment for a period is likely to be significant. This is probably a separate issue.

con747

Check the attic water tank it's probably full of orange sediment and also the hot water tank is possibly the same. I had similar issues after a new treatment system and emptied the water tank and cleaned it out and put in a new cylinder. I found the flakes were just limescale and cleared up after a few months. Just so you know I ran mine for 4 years without the system because I didn't know about the grants you can get every 7 years so thought it would be too expensive and no real damage was done.

monseiur

There's the possibility that the new pump itself ( block, impeller etc.) is gradually rusting inside ………some cheap & cheerful ones from ''ching chang'' China are known culprits thanks to 'steel' ?? coming from recycled rust heaps being used.

Wearb

Is your expansion tank OK?

Wiggles88

Hey thanks for the replies. I'll try to get onto the water treatment co in the morning to see what they can do.

Hmm I must look at the water tank on the morning as well. We live in a high iron area so you're probably right about that being full of gunk.

The expansion tank was always a bit on the loud side since we moved in. If we use a lot of water, say a long shower then the tank will give off a loud sort of squeaky rumble. Could that be causing an issue?

con747

Also check the salt brine tank for the treatment has salt in it, open the lid and see if the water is orange if it's above the salt level.

blackbox

Metallic flakes might be from the pump impeller. Have you got a tap or valve where you can extract water before the treatment equipment. If the water has particles in it there you will know the problem is with the pump.

Wiggles88

Hmm no tap pre treatment unfortunately. I have noticed the flakes are only coming from the kitchen sink. I'm not sure if that's just because I can take off the end of the kitchen tap allowing free flow vs the bathroom taps that might just be blocked by the faucet there acting as a filter. There's also a bit of a sulfur smell coming off the water...this is becoming more and more of a pain

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122707774#Comment_122707774

What's the salt brine tank and the attic tank like? I found the flakes I was getting only came from the kitchen tap after using very hot water for a while but cleared up again after running the cold tap for a couple of minutes.