Why was my tap water brown?

Question

I went to fill up a cup and the water ran clear but then for a few seconds, it ran a rusty, brown color. What does this mean? Should I not drink anymore of the tap water?

Answer 1

Were is your tap water coming from.Well,City?probably  just rust in the pipes. It won't hurt you. run it until it clears up.

Answer 2

could be build up in the pipes, could be firemen flushing the lines, run it till its clear again, and you should be fine.

Answer 3

u should not trust your tap water nowadays. better not drink it for your safety.

Answer 4

You didn't mention if you were on city water or well water. If city, they could have used the hydrants in another area, and this will cause the water to turn brown in your area. If well water, you may be having problems in the well, or it could ba debris in the water tank, or heater.

Answer 5

Was there a water main break somewhere?  That happened to me once.

Answer 6

this is not uncommon to occur *occasionally*, as the other answers point out.

run the water for a few minutes from as many taps (sink and bathtub and flush all your toilets) - throughout your apartment or house.  This will get a lot of water moving through all your pipes.

you should be fine after that and monitor the situation.   If the water is chronically brown still after that - that's when you call the plumber.