Sediment in need shower head

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StockTsi

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Over the weekend we started getting very low water pressure in the master bath shower upstairs. Took the shower head off, cleaned it, and put it back. That helped some. Next day same situation and cleaned the shower head even more. Seemed to work ok last night.

This morning after 2 showers there was hardly any water pressure. Took the shower head off and the filter was completely clogged (see picture) even though it was clean yesterday night.

Any ideas what might cause this or how to fix? House was built in 1998 and I don't know if it's the original water heater or if it's been replaced.

Thanks in advance
 

StockTsi

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City water. No treatment system but do have a hot water recirculating system (if that's what it's called)
 

Smooky

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There was probably a water line break or other install down the street and some sand got in the pipe.

You probably need to try to flush out the water lines. Take the areators out of the faucet and let it run for a while. You might want to drape a towel over the top to prevent it from splashing all over the place. Instead of the shower I would run the tub spout if you have one or leave the shower head off and flush it wide open. You may need to try to do that at all your faucets. Things like the toilet fill valve may need to be replaced if all that sand got in there or at least taken apart and cleaned out. You may need to flush all the lines.
 

StockTsi

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Thanks for the advice. My son has been taking baths pretty regularly the last couple of days (got in poison ivy) so the tub in that bathroom has been running quite often. Also took a shower without the shower head the other day because of the low water pressure.

And now that I think about it, we haven't used the tub in probably 6+ months. Any chance that could be related since it started happening at the same time?
 

Smooky

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I don't know. If that is the only fixture that has a problem then maybe so. The water line to the tub/shower could be the low point and the sand settled there.
 

btPlumber

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I'm having the same problem. City very soft city water and a 1 micro whole house filter. I have a stainless indirect water heater with 15 yr old uponor pex and copper. I've flushed lines and my water heater. It started about 1 yr ago and the heads clog within about 1 mo - depending on usage. Could the debris be coming from my city water meter?
 

Tuttles Revenge

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I'm having the same problem. City very soft city water and a 1 micro whole house filter. I have a stainless indirect water heater with 15 yr old uponor pex and copper. I've flushed lines and my water heater. It started about 1 yr ago and the heads clog within about 1 mo - depending on usage. Could the debris be coming from my city water meter?
Where are you finding the debris? I would imagine that your 1micron filter would eliminate any particles from the water source from getting past to any shower heads.. So then the next logical place would be a dip tube or similar in the water heater. Most tubes are blue or white, but may be different in your water heater being indirect.
 

btPlumber

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Where are you finding the debris? I would imagine that your 1micron filter would eliminate any particles from the water source from getting past to any shower heads.. So then the next logical place would be a dip tube or similar in the water heater. Most tubes are blue or white, but may be different in your water heater being indirect.
I have a stainless steel indirect hot water tank with a stainless coil - I didn't think it would react / cause scale. Could the trip tube be made of something sacrificial?
 

btPlumber

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Where did you get the "very soft" info?
I haven't done a full water test but when testing with a pool water test, the hardness is nearly zero - my Ph is rather high at 9.2. I'm not the MWRA (Boston Ma) and this correlates with what they publish. They say the high Ph is to avoid corrosion.
 

John Gayewski

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A section of galvanized water piping somewhere?

Other than a bad/old section of piping is likley the water heater. To rule out the city maybe install a filter right at the beginning. Then work your way back.
 

Jeff H Young

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house built in 98 so ill go out on a limb and assume its not galvie. i think its collected in water heater , I spent a long time on my water heater draining flushing , shop Vac through bottom port with no chemical changed anode rod a lot of junk came out bottom ,5 years old w/h My guess is there is still stuff in there . but I didn't even have a problem just maintenance
 

Tuttles Revenge

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To rule out the city maybe install a filter right at the beginning
house built in 98

City very soft city water and a 1 micro whole house filter.
Since this is a piggyback thread, the OP didn't have a filter but the piggyback does on their main. I can't think of anything else in a water system inside of a house that would deteriorate like this besides a water heater dip tube. Maybe we need a picture or model number of the water heater to see if there are any parts that could cause the issue.

Water filter housing disintegrating? Shower cartridge falling apart?
 

btPlumber

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My tank is a 50 gal heat-flow: https://www.heat-flo.com/products/indirect-water-heaters - in service since 2005 - sediment issue cropped up in the last year. The current model does show a sacrificial rod - black cap above the aquastat well - mine doesn't have this cap - perhaps it's under the outer cover. I have a call into the manufacture. This would be true for most people in eastern Ma since we all get our water from the quabbin reservoir. Since heat-flo is based in Ma, they must have encountered this before. Will call on Monday - they are closed on Fridays.

In the service manual has a procedure for descaling with 1 gal of commercial ice maker descaler.

I think my high Ph of 9.5 may be the culprit. The service manual also states:

Water Quality
Improper water quality will reduce the expected life of the water heater. Hard water, sediment, high or low Ph, and high levels of chlorides in the domestic water should be avoided. Sediment and hard water will eventually coat the heating coil inside the water heater and reduce the rate of hot water production and may eventually cause a failure. High or low Ph and/or high chloride concentrations will cause corrosion and eventually failure. A filter is strongly recommended where sediment is present in the water. A water softening system is recommended for areas with hard water. In an area where the water quality is not known, a water quality test should be performed.
WARNING:
Do not operate the Heat-Flo water heaters in areas where the Ph is above 8.0 or below 6.0, and/or with chloride concentrations greater than 100 parts per million (ppm). Heat-Flo’s standard warranty does not cover problems caused by improper water Ph or excessive levels of chlorides.
 

Reach4

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"I think my high Ph of 9.5 may be the culprit.
Another highly suspect number. If that were true, you would be in strong need of treating for that. I expect it is not a real number. No city water plant would put out such water.
 
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Jeff H Young

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My tank is a 50 gal heat-flow: https://www.heat-flo.com/products/indirect-water-heaters - in service since 2005 - sediment issue cropped up in the last year. The current model does show a sacrificial rod - black cap above the aquastat well - mine doesn't have this cap - perhaps it's under the outer cover. I have a call into the manufacture. This would be true for most people in eastern Ma since we all get our water from the quabbin reservoir. Since heat-flo is based in Ma, they must have encountered this before. Will call on Monday - they are closed on Fridays.

In the service manual has a procedure for descaling with 1 gal of commercial ice maker descaler.

I think my high Ph of 9.5 may be the culprit. The service manual also states:

Water Quality
Improper water quality will reduce the expected life of the water heater. Hard water, sediment, high or low Ph, and high levels of chlorides in the domestic water should be avoided. Sediment and hard water will eventually coat the heating coil inside the water heater and reduce the rate of hot water production and may eventually cause a failure. High or low Ph and/or high chloride concentrations will cause corrosion and eventually failure. A filter is strongly recommended where sediment is present in the water. A water softening system is recommended for areas with hard water. In an area where the water quality is not known, a water quality test should be performed.
WARNING:
Do not operate the Heat-Flo water heaters in areas where the Ph is above 8.0 or below 6.0, and/or with chloride concentrations greater than 100 parts per million (ppm). Heat-Flo’s standard warranty does not cover problems caused by improper water Ph or excessive levels of chlorides.
on direct heat water heaters some anodes are part of the hot water outlet nipple. 9.5 might be higher than desired but district isn't fixing it due to costs
 

btPlumber

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"I think my high Ph of 9.5 may be the culprit.
Another highly suspect number. If that were true, you would be in strong need of treating for that. I expect it is not a real number. No city water plant would put out such water.
I was surprised how high it was - I checked it a number of times to be sure. This is what they publish on the MWRA site:

What is the pH of MWRA drinking water?

MWRA treats its drinking water so that it has a pH of approximately 9.0-9.5, a slightly alkaline measurement. This pH level helps to reduce the potential that water will leach metal that might be in your household plumbing. Untreated, "raw" water in MWRA's Quabbin Reservoir has a pH of approximately 6.8, close to neutral. pH measures the amount of hydrogen ion activity in a substance. The pH scale is relative and runs from 0 to 14. 0 is the lowest, and most acidic, pH level. 7 is neutral. 14 is the highest, and most alkaline, pH level.
 
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