Hello everyone,
I really hope someone here can help me.
We bought a house 2 years ago (26 years old), and we are now about to renovate our bathroom. However, we need to solve a problem beforehand that none of the three plumbing professionals who have visited us so far have been able to help with.
We have sand-like deposits (see photos) in many of the aerators and showerheads, and no one can tell us where these deposits are coming from... :-( Aerators can be cleaned relatively easily, but not showerheads. Therefore, we would like to fix the cause before the renovation.
The amount is so significant that we have to clean the aerators every 2-3 weeks.
From my understanding, possible sources could be:
1) Main water supply, meaning the material might be coming from outside
2) Magnetic water conditioner (installed by previous owner, according to the information gathered so far, it doesn’t affect limescale)
3) Pipes
4) Gas boiler
5) Faucets
What we have already done or clarified:
- Unscrewed the filter behind the main water supply and checked the filter element. It was not damaged. Is it possible that something could be damaged in an unseen part of the filter, so water does not pass through the filter element properly?
- Unplugged the water conditioner a week ago. So far, no difference observed
- All plumbers have said that the mostly plastic pipes installed in our house cannot be the cause
- Last weekend, we performed the following test: We placed a large (approx. 50 liters (13 gallons)) transparent plastic container in the bathtub and ran very cold water, then very hot water through the hose without the showerhead for about 20 minutes each. Result: No deposits were visible in the cold water, but a clear amount of sand-like deposits appeared in the container with hot water. For us, this was a strong indication that the boiler might be involved.
- However, Junkers told us by phone today that neither the boiler nor the heat exchanger could be responsible for the deposits. They said if there were that many deposits, the water wouldn’t heat up properly when showering. What should we make of this statement?
- Faucets: With the amount of material we remove, this shouldn’t be the source. The faucets would be falling apart by now. However, it is strange that the aerator in the guest toilet is the only one without such deposits?! Although there we only have cold water!
So, now it’s (hopefully) your turn.
Does anyone have any idea what the cause might be?
Best regards
oetzi
I really hope someone here can help me.
We bought a house 2 years ago (26 years old), and we are now about to renovate our bathroom. However, we need to solve a problem beforehand that none of the three plumbing professionals who have visited us so far have been able to help with.
We have sand-like deposits (see photos) in many of the aerators and showerheads, and no one can tell us where these deposits are coming from... :-( Aerators can be cleaned relatively easily, but not showerheads. Therefore, we would like to fix the cause before the renovation.
The amount is so significant that we have to clean the aerators every 2-3 weeks.
From my understanding, possible sources could be:
1) Main water supply, meaning the material might be coming from outside
2) Magnetic water conditioner (installed by previous owner, according to the information gathered so far, it doesn’t affect limescale)
3) Pipes
4) Gas boiler
5) Faucets
What we have already done or clarified:
- Unscrewed the filter behind the main water supply and checked the filter element. It was not damaged. Is it possible that something could be damaged in an unseen part of the filter, so water does not pass through the filter element properly?
- Unplugged the water conditioner a week ago. So far, no difference observed
- All plumbers have said that the mostly plastic pipes installed in our house cannot be the cause
- Last weekend, we performed the following test: We placed a large (approx. 50 liters (13 gallons)) transparent plastic container in the bathtub and ran very cold water, then very hot water through the hose without the showerhead for about 20 minutes each. Result: No deposits were visible in the cold water, but a clear amount of sand-like deposits appeared in the container with hot water. For us, this was a strong indication that the boiler might be involved.
- However, Junkers told us by phone today that neither the boiler nor the heat exchanger could be responsible for the deposits. They said if there were that many deposits, the water wouldn’t heat up properly when showering. What should we make of this statement?
- Faucets: With the amount of material we remove, this shouldn’t be the source. The faucets would be falling apart by now. However, it is strange that the aerator in the guest toilet is the only one without such deposits?! Although there we only have cold water!
So, now it’s (hopefully) your turn.
Does anyone have any idea what the cause might be?
Best regards
oetzi
@Musketier: That’s a good idea. Although it would have to be a filter that can be cleaned. We’ll see. Maybe we’ll get a new boiler soon, then hopefully that will solve the problem...
@Lexmaul: Yeah, that’s why it always takes ages for hot water to come through at our place.
By the way, the boiler is 26 years old.
Is there a good thread here in the forum about buying advice for boilers? I don’t even want to know everything you have to or can consider with them.
@Lexmaul: Yeah, that’s why it always takes ages for hot water to come through at our place.
By the way, the boiler is 26 years old.
Is there a good thread here in the forum about buying advice for boilers? I don’t even want to know everything you have to or can consider with them.
D
Doc.Schnaggls23 Apr 2015 08:43oetzi schrieb:
@Musketier:
By the way, the boiler is 26 years old
Is there a good thread in this forum about buying advice for boilers? I don’t even want to know everything you have to or can consider.Hello,
in that case, I would definitely recommend a replacement and also consider integrating a hot water storage tank as well as a timer-controlled circulation pump.
A specific buying guide is quite difficult here in the forum since no one knows your heating load calculation. It would probably be advisable to involve an energy consultant or a properly trained heating installer.
Regards,
Dirk