Speaking of DH Vents, WWYD

unaveragejane

For at least the past 20 months, we have had a problem with our plumbing. When hot water is run through specific faucets (guest bath, downstairs lav), it will often have black flecks in it. They are kind of greasy when I clean it up, but I'm not sure if its charcoal or rubber. DH did some reasearch on it last year and could fix what he thinks it is, but after this long, I'm about ready to have a conniption. Several times it has screwed up bath time for DS, and its a b to clean up. So would you just ramp up the reminders for DH, call a plumber, or something else? (I would try to fix it myself but would have to learn how to plumb withcopper piping.)

Mandmeesh

call a plumber and get it fixed

Unknown

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bumpuser5078523

I would tell him he had until a certain date to fix it or you would call a plumber.

LatteLady5

kklamb10 said:

I would tell him he had until a certain date to fix it or you would call a plumber.

This! My DH works well when given a time frame otherwise it takes him forever!

This if asking nicely isn't working. I am very laid back on most things but DH knows when I want or need something ASAP. After moving DD from her crib I wanted her dresser secured to the wall. I told him how important getting that done was and stressed how much I didn't want her sleeping in her room until it was done. He did that night. Maybe try stressing the importance of getting the issue fixed or expressing understanding that he hasn't had time or whatever to do it yet and suggest a plumber.

freezorburn

I'm so glad my DH is not handy at all. So if I can't fix something, he is all too happy to bring in a professional to do the work.

FWIW, I remember years ago when we were renting and had black flecks and rust coming out of our bath tap. Turned out our water heater was about to break down.

unaveragejane

@SecretAgentKate and @freezorburn

We replaced our water heater 3 or 4 years ago. We didn't have the problem until at most 2 years ago. When DH was researching the issue, he decided it could be one of the flexible pipes that he used b/c it has rubber gaskets or lining or something that some people report breaks down over time. When he went to Home Depot to get parts, the "expert" convinced him that couldn't be the problem, so he came home empty-handed. That's one person I'd better never meet in a dark alley! I still think that replacing that piece would be a good starting place, but it would have to be replaced with straight copper piping to figure out if that's really the problem or not.

YellowLily2013

I agree with a deadline or call a plumber. DH surprising fixed our bathroom plumbing but it took a few months and the shower was unusable without the fix.

It was copper piping too. Apparently it can be really tricky to get good seals without soddering it. So DH ended up buying "fancy" re:expensive parts for the whole deal. That a real plumber wouldn't have had to buy. But still cheaper than a plumber... I think....

Aurora_Borealis

I would hire a plumber and not think twice about it. MH *hates* doing plumbing work (though enjoys electrical stuff) so we both agree on hiring a professional for that type of stuff.

unaveragejane

flinton said:

 If the flex line there is a stainless steel braided line, the rubbers can break down, but are easy to replace. If they have broken down in 2 years it could be caused by a mineral in your water causing some corrosion. 

My dad is a master plumber and we own a retail store. Hope this helps you out a bit. 

For the record I'm in Canada but these should all be available in the US. 

Thanks for the input! DH did some more research this afternoon after I asked him nicely, and this was one of the possible explanations he found. Apparently a lot of cities are switching from chlorine to chloramine (sp?) or something similar and it is harder on rubber. I'm still not sure he had decided on a solution to try, but at least he is good at soldering if it should come to that.

daisyemerson

I don't know how relevant this is, but something new that I've learned:
Hot water heaters need to be drained yearly because they can build up sediment in the bottom of the tank which can 1: dump into the bathtub/sink and 2: take up room in the tank that hot water should be occupying. It can also cause hot water heaters to break prematurely.
I've had sediment dump out in the bath on a few occasions in different houses (we're military and rent a lot...) but I don't remember it being greasy or sticky so I'm not sure this is what it is for you, unless maybe your particular brand of sediment is greasy and sticky. For me, it was kinda just like a black cloud of octopus ink in an already halfway full or fuller tub so I'd just drain it and start over since it rinsed out easily with the water. Just wanted to throw that out there since nobody has mentioned tank sediment.

YellowLily2013

daisyemerson said:

I don't know how relevant this is, but something new that I've learned:
Hot water heaters need to be drained yearly because they can build up sediment in the bottom of the tank which can 1: dump into the bathtub/sink and 2: take up room in the tank that hot water should be occupying. It can also cause hot water heaters to break prematurely.
I've had sediment dump out in the bath on a few occasions in different houses (we're military and rent a lot...) but I don't remember it being greasy or sticky so I'm not sure this is what it is for you, unless maybe your particular brand of sediment is greasy and sticky. For me, it was kinda just like a black cloud of octopus ink in an already halfway full or fuller tub so I'd just drain it and start over since it rinsed out easily with the water. Just wanted to throw that out there since nobody has mentioned tank sediment.

Interesting. The more you know.

freezorburn

Some newer models of water tanks have a feature that will periodically stir up and suspend sediment so that it will move out of the tank rather than settling. We got this the last time we replaced our water tank, probably 6-7 years ago? It's a Kenmore, that's all I remember.