Concerning backflow [water contamination] issue, advice needed

[silent bob]

hello everyone. i recently discovered that the water supply line to my toilet (that feeds the upper tank) has developed black mold.

this is what the other side looks like (inside of the shut off valve coming out of the wall):

what concerns me, is this:

to my knowledge there aren't any backflow prevention devices. am i correct in assuming that when i turn my sink's cold water supply on, that i am potentially pulling contaminated water from this line? could it explain why i've been sick for the past few years since i moved in here? aside from gutting all of the pipes and redoing everything, is there a solution to this? can i purposely backflow bleach (or boiling water, or some other disinfectant) through the lines to flush them of this mold)? any advice would be appreciated. thanks

 

[Craigpump]

Are you sure that's mold and not just dirt or dust? Mold isn't going to accumulate inside a fitting.

If you want to sanitize your system, install a whole house filter inline after your tank if you have a well or on your incoming water supply line. Remove the cartridge housing, put 1/2 cup of bleach in it and then pull the chlorine through the ENTIRE system. Outdoor spigots, faucets, showers, washer, dishwasher, ice maker...everything. Let the chlorine sit overnight if possible to kill the bacteria, then flush.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

what concerns me, is this:

I suggest a whole house cartridge filter. Do you have chlorinated water piped in, or do you have your own well?

 

[silent bob]

The toilet is a Saniflo; it grinds up the flushed material and pumps it up 4 feet to tie into the existing plumbing. Occasionally when the grinder unit would get jammed, I would flush a bit of olive oil to help free up the trapped debris, instead of having to rip into the unit and mess with the grinder directly.

This led to me occasionally adding a bit of olive oil to the top tank, to keep things working smoothly. A few months later I pulled the cover off of the top tank (clean water reservoir) only to discover black mold growing all over the inside of it. Somehow the mold spread downstream to the toilet's water supply hook-up (the first picture I posted above). So I'm positive it's mold and not dirt. It's municipal water, not well water. Can you elaborate a bit more on the process of bleaching the lines? Is 1/2 cup really enough to disinfect the whole system? Thanks for your replies

 

[Craigpump]

You may need to put chlorine in the canister a few times in order to get chlorine through the entire system. We use chlorine pellets so we don't have to refill the canister.