White stuff clogging faucets

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amor

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The showerhead and the kitchen faucet recently and slowly started having problems with water flow. It went gradually till a point where there was just a trickle of water flowing through. In both of these places, after removing the showerhead and the faucet i found some white stuff clogging the flow.
I tested whether it was a mineral with vinegar and the result was no. It feels kind of hard, it is not brittle, and it looks like some plastic material (not sure). It does not have the consistency of those white tapes used in plumbing (it is way harder). To me it resembles the waste I'd get when drilling a white PVC pipe (not sure what to call those scrap material left when drilling a hole in PVC).
The issue is that there has not been any recent intervention in the pipes in my house.. no plumbing work for the past few years...
To eliminate other possibilities (i heard about problems in the water heater dip tube) i flushed out the heater (the water came out brown for maybe 10-15 seconds, but turned clear soon after).

I am attaching a pic. Does anyone have a guess of what is it? And how it could have ended in two places (kitchen faucet and showerhead)?
 
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BobL43

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View attachment 15016The showerhead and the kitchen faucet recently and slowly started having problems with water flow. It went gradually till a point where there was just a trickle of water flowing through. In both of these places, after removing the showerhead and the faucet i found some white stuff clogging the flow.
I tested whether it was a mineral with vinegar and the result was no. It feels kind of hard, it is not brittle, and it looks like some plastic material (not sure). It does not have the consistency of those white tapes used in plumbing (it is way harder). To me it resembles the waste I'd get when drilling a white PVC pipe (not sure what to call those scrap material left when drilling a hole in PVC).
The issue is that there has not been any recent intervention in the pipes in my house.. no plumbing work for the past few years...
To eliminate other possibilities (i heard about problems in the water heater dip tube) i flushed out the heater (the water came out brown for maybe 10-15 seconds, but turned clear soon after).

I am attaching a pic. Does anyone have a guess of what is it? And how it could have ended in two places (kitchen faucet and showerhead)?
It could be exactly what you think: shavings of pvc pipe that finally broke loose, but then again, why would PVC pipe be used inside the house for water supply (I am not a plumber)
 

JohnjH2o1

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It definitely looks like the dip tube in your heater is breaking down. How old is your heater? There was a big problem with dip tubes but that was some time ago, supposedly that was taken care of.

John
 

Jimbo

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That is classic of the old dip tube issue. I believe that was early '90s so if your water heater is ~20 years old, then that is the problem. Bad news is the class action suit is long since expired.
 

amor

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That is classic of the old dip tube issue. I believe that was early '90s so if your water heater is ~20 years old, then that is the problem. Bad news is the class action suit is long since expired.

I bought the house 5 yrs ago, but it was built 20 yrs, therefore that must be the age of the heater. However, as i drained the heater, i only saw brown water coming (from the rust/deposition) and not even a single white particle like the one in the picture. Do you still think it could be related to the dip tube issue?
 

Jadnashua

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If you dip tube has disintegrated, other than the pieces showing up caught in faucets, shower heads, etc., the thing you'd notice most is that your hot water turns cool much faster than it did. The dip tube directs the incoming cold water to the bottom of the tank, while you draw hot water from the top. So, if the dip tube is no longer there, they mix near the top, diluting the stored hot water to lukewarm very quickly. The tubes themselves are cheap, but the fittings may be very securely rusted in place, making its replacement tough or next to impossible.
 

Gary Swart

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Dip tubes are easy to check and easy to replace. Just remove the nipple in the cold water intake. The dip tube is flared at the top and is right under the end of that nipple. Just fish it out. If it's shot, get a new one and cut it to length if necessary. They go close to the bottom of the tank.
 
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