Rust coming from nowhere (?)

[jschneider28]

I have a brand new porcelain covered steel tub, installed by a contractor. less than 3 months in rust started to form around the drain under the flange. I called him immediately to come look at it. He came over and removed the flange, he said he rubbed the rust off with his finger and there doesn't appear to be any source. He isn't sure what to do. As a precaution he painted over the drain with porcelain repair and resealed.

I'm worried, does this sound right to you? What should be checked?

 

[Plumber69]

pictures

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

IMHO, the only good thing about that construction of tub is that they are cheap. Sealing the drain to the tub with some silicon or maybe even just some plumber's putty may slow it down.

Anything that you may drop in there that chips the finish and that area will rust, too.

 

[Terry]

Or it could be rust from the pipes. Old galvanized water lines, or sometimes if the home is done in copper, the tub spout piping is galvanized.

 

[jschneider28]

IMHO, the only good thing about that construction of tub is that they are cheap. Sealing the drain to the tub with some silicon or maybe even just some plumber's putty may slow it down.

Anything that you may drop in there that chips the finish and that area will rust, too.

I appreciate your opinion. This was my first go at picking out a tub, which was much harder than I expected. I needed to stay away from the really expensive ones and that knocked out cast iron. I have always rented or owned built to sell homes with "flimsy tubs" that discolored after a while, and I hate a tub that feel cheap. That left me with the porcelain options, sturdy, pretty, and we don't have kids so I wasn't too worried about chipping. Although as we were finishing the kitchen we had to wash dishes in the tub for a bit. I dropped blade from a Ninja blender that took a small nick out of the bottom. I ended up sealing it right away.

 

[jschneider28]

Or it could be rust from the pipes. Old galvanized water lines, or sometimes if the home is done in copper, the tub spout piping is galvanized.

This is a great insight! We will keep an eye on it and rub away any rust that appears. This sounds like it could be it! Thank you.

 

[jschneider28]

pictures

Good call, I should have thought of this.

 

[Reach4]

We will keep an eye on it and rub away any rust that appears.

Get a white plastic container. After you have not used the bath or shower for a long interval, catch the first water from the spout in the container. See any rust?