Why is my laundry tap running orange water for a few seconds?

Question

The laundry tap is the only faucet in the house that runs orange water for a few seconds then runs clear. The four-year old house is plumbed in white plastic (not copper). This problem seems consistent whenever the tap is first used. I'm concerned that is not an isolated problem. Is this orange water going through the whole house plumbing undetected? Your comments are most appreciated.

Answer 1

The water is orange from rust.  You have old metal somewhere.  I have a tap outside that doesn't get used often and it runs rusty for a bit should I finally decide to run some water through it.  It's flushing the rust out of the  metal shut off.

Answer 2

Your water could be high in iron content. Is the laundry tap the lowest one in the home? If so the particles are just settling out naturally. Have it tested or just install an iron filter. This is not expensive to do with what sounds like a relatively low amount of iron content in the water. I solved mine with a filter setup from ww grainger that took care of the problem for about $120. Usually the plumbing fittings will not rust to the degree you have described. There is just not enough oxygen in the water

Answer 3

It's rust, and it's in the line right near that faucet,

possibly the fitting itself or the stub it's attached to.

It won't hurt you, but it will stain your whites if your not careful.

Answer 4

Orange usually indicates rust.There has to be some metal where the water comes into contact with it to cause rust.Maybe the faucet is rusting inside it where the water sits till you turn it on.

Answer 5

There is not enough use for this water line.  It could come from the actual valve that you have the hose hooked up to. Try changing out the valve(s) and even the hoses if the hoses happen to be metal in origin. The rusty water should only be isolated to the laundry tap(s).  Since you only see it there and not the rest of the house.  The other taps are getting used enough so as not to cause the same issue.

Answer 6

Perhaps the valve in the tap is rusting and getting the initial mixture of rust and water.Also make sure there are no galvanized steel pipe near the tap.

Answer 7

i would guess rust