Water tank problems.

[Seanuss]

Hi, my first post so hi everyone.

we recently moved into a new house, with black particles swimming through the upstairs cold taps. Upon inspecting the attic water tank, there was around an inch of sludge in the bottom. So we got a plumber in last week to disconnect the tank and hook the cold taps up to the mains. I asked him to drain the tank externally as I heard you're not supposed to drain it through the system if it's full of rubbish. However my wife told me that's exactly what he did - he blasted it all through, sludge and all.

So the problem has persisted, the water still doesn't run clean. Was the plumber right to drain the tank this way - should the problem settle down after a while? Bit of a tricky one as he's done a lot of good work for us. Hope someone can advise!

thanks,

sean.

 

[kris]

Hi Sean and welcome to the forum. What your best to do is take a sample of the water and get it tested . The plumber couldve drained the tank through the hot water tap as its always gonna be tank fed so thats not major however he shouldnt have put any of the sludge through the pipes , just the bulk of the water then the last part i wouldve put into buckets or pumped it out and scooped the sludge into a bucket. Normally tanks struggle to get through the attic hatches and its usually impossible to take them out with anything inside them. It's not something I've ever done as up north Scotland our water is crystal clear. But if tank lids have been left off dust n stew can build up over the years.

 

[Centralheatking]

I think the black bits are the bits left over after
whoever drilled the tank side connections etc
and left them inside the tank -wrong but !

to be quite honest they will not hurt you all
materials to do with mains water are tested and approved
so you are most probably quite safe

I would not get too upset

centralheatking
ye

 

[AWheating]

draining through the taps is the normal way. If the tanks full of corrosion/ residue then prob best to change it or have it cleaned and brought up to current regs if needed. It should have a lid, be insulated, have a screened warning pipe and ventilation etc....