Blue Water! Filter required perhaps?

dedaw

Water coming from the taps is leaving a blue residue on sinks/showers. I presume it's limescale. I have spoken to the guy who installed the water pump who said I need a filter.
Can I buy the filter and install it myself? Will the problem be solved with just a filter or do I need some kind of filtration system/unit?
Any advice as what to do?

items

Have you got a fresh water well? if so before filter can be fitted you have to have water sample analyzed to find out what needs to be filtered out. Once you know what needs to be taken out of water, you then go find a filter to suit your water.

If its mains water, first I've ever heard about blue water? limescale can only be seen on taps etc after water has dried out, limescale leaves a white/grey powdery residue.

If you just had some plumbing works done maybe your seeing flux in water, flux is a paste used when soldering fittings onto copper pipe work, after job is done, water back on etc, pipe works not been cleaned out, flux mixes up with water and comes out tap. Its poisonous so make sure its not flux coming out.

I've never seen blue water as a result of limescale, I have seen some funny looking water after a fresh water well has been turned on for first time but not blue. You never know sometimes, best look into it more.

Prenderb

Agree with items - limescale is white...

This website might be of some interest, and confirms that it might well be the flux used in jointing your copper pipes.

Massachussets also suggests that that kind of colour comes from the copper oxidising.

I for one wouldn't drink it, seems the plumber needs to sort it out.

items

Prenderb wrote: »

Agree with items - limescale is white...

This website might be of some interest, and confirms that it might well be the flux used in jointing your copper pipes.

Massachussets also suggests that that kind of colour comes from the copper oxidising.

I for one wouldn't drink it, seems the plumber needs to sort it out.

Good info there.

Good old Irish system, schools, hospitals, restaurants, any real public buildings must have storage water and pipework cleaned out with chlorine and certified for safe use before water can be turned on for public use.

Houses, nothing at all, no certs for safe use, pipes are never cleaned out after being newly installed. I know someone who was taken to hospital after being poisoned from drinking flux laden water and an entire family had to go to hospital because some lazy plumber mopped up an attic leak with attic insulation then squeezed off excess water from insulation into attic tank. Nice to have showers and brush teeth with water full of fiber glass.

dedaw

Thanks so much for the info. Yes the well is a fresh water type. The hous is a newbuild, well two years. Pipes running through the house are all the polypropolene type, no copper.
(Not sure if spelling that correctly or describing right but definitely not copper!!!!)
It has had minimal affect to anyone or anything, faint discolouration of the sanitary ware which is easily cleaned off.
If sending away a water sample, where do I send it to? I'm in the Wexford/Wicklow area.
I'm hoping to do this, obviously, without spending huge amounts of money. Thanks again.

items

dedaw wrote: »

Thanks so much for the info. Yes the well is a fresh water type. The hous is a newbuild, well two years. Pipes running through the house are all the polypropolene type, no copper.
(Not sure if spelling that correctly or describing right but definitely not copper!!!!)
It has had minimal affect to anyone or anything, faint discolouration of the sanitary ware which is easily cleaned off.
If sending away a water sample, where do I send it to? I'm in the Wexford/Wicklow area.
I'm hoping to do this, obviously, without spending huge amounts of money. Thanks again.

Try yellow pages for water testing, if you cant find anything find a fresh water well drilling company and ring them, ask about where to get sample analyzed, they should have some contact details. Having water analyzed is something you have to do, without water being analyzed you wont know how to filter water, you might not have to filter water at all, (if lucky). I find a lot of times a new water well has to be run off for a while, hose into rain water gully and tap left open for anything from a day to a week. Best of luck with it.

Satts

dedaw wrote: »

Water coming from the taps is leaving a blue residue on sinks/showers.

We have this problem as well.
In our case the ph of our water is low(acidic), 5.9.
Neutral water has a ph of 7.0.
Water with calcium(causes limescale) usually has a ph of 7.0 or more.

Even if you have plastic water pipes, you may have brass fittings and these can be erroded by water with a low ph.

I don't know how your showers are connected up but in our case we have a pump shower which pumps cold water from the tank in the attic and hot water from the copper cyclinder. The stripped copper from the cyclinder and soap from showering combine to form a blue scum on the shower tray.

I would advise a full water analysis before you buy anything.
I don't know the companies in your area.
Water Technology in Togher, Cork city do it, even offer a water testing postal service.

There are two main ways of fixing ph problems that I know of :

The first is a cyclinder with limestone chippings in it, which the water passes through, adding lime to your water, which raises the ph.
From what I've heard it can cause more problems than it fixes.
Probably better not to put your drinking water through it.(Limescale scum in your cup of tea). A cousin of mine got one in to treat their low ph water. The tech put all their water through it.They complained of the lime in their tea and paid the tech more money for a water softener(Salt unit) to counteract the lime. Low ph water is usually soft water(but not always). It seems crazy to pay for a water softener and salt for water that was soft in the first place.
You have to get the limestone chippings replaced periodically as they get depleted of calcium. The level of ph correction is uneven during the life of the chippings, strong with new chippings, less with old chippings.

The second way is to use a pump unit that despenses a measured dose of chemical to balance your ph.
Most of the bigger more professional companies go for this method.
It's an even, measured way of correcting ph. The despensing rate of the pump is adjusted to suit your water.

Maybe a grant available to fix your water. 75% of cost of correction available in my area up to a certain amount. But must be living in the house for seven years.
Can you wait seven years ? Depends on how low your ph is.
i.e. Will all your brass fittings and your copper cyclinder be erroded before you qualify for the grant ?

Outkast_IRE

The water sounds like its cupro-solvent , and it can cause some amount of hassle with the copper piping ,
Cupro solvent water will leave a green-blue stain where its been driping etc.
I have had experience with this and without treating the incoming water it will usually lead to pinhole leaks in any copper pipe work it comes into contact with.

T-Square

http://www.bsee.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/2321/Avoiding_corrosion.html

dedaw

HI all,

Thanks for the replies. I have had the water tested and the results have shown that the water is quite acidic.
My options are as follows, and any advice concerning these would be appreciated.

1. Leave as is and just change the hot water copper cylinder every 6/8 years @ €450 plus labour costs. (Minimmal copper anywhere else)

2. Install a Dosing unit to input a solution in the water to balance and neutralise the water @ €800 with additional €85 per year for the solution.

3. Install a stainless steel hot water cylinder @ €1000 plus labour costs.

Which would remove the problem, or at very least reduce the most?
Anyone any experiences of the dosing units?

Many Thanks,
Pádraig

exaisle

dedaw wrote: »

Thanks so much for the info. Yes the well is a fresh water type. The hous is a newbuild, well two years. Pipes running through the house are all the polypropolene type, no copper.
(Not sure if spelling that correctly or describing right but definitely not copper!!!!)
It has had minimal affect to anyone or anything, faint discolouration of the sanitary ware which is easily cleaned off.
If sending away a water sample, where do I send it to? I'm in the Wexford/Wicklow area.
I'm hoping to do this, obviously, without spending huge amounts of money. Thanks again.

PM Sent.

egan007

Check out www.water2buy.ie