Brown Tap Water

K

KKKK

Registered User
Just wandering if others have problems with their tap water - ours is often - not really brown - more white wine coloured varying from a light sauvignon blanc to a deep chardonnay !!

Generally if you run the tap for 1 - 5 mins it runs clean so I haven't worried too much - just put it down to HK pipes and plumbing. The trouble is now I run the water clean but it often then starts running 'brown' a few minutes later - this means that I think more often than i'd like my son ends up bathing (and therefore drinking) the brown stuff.

Does anyone know what causes the 'brown' ??

Do other people have this problem ??

We never drink the water in the tap only bottled because of the problem but we do use it for cooking and bathing.

How concerned do you think I should be ??

Is this something that is reasonable to expect my building to 'sort out' or is it just 'part of living in Hk' ???

Thanks
 
Our water is never brown but in our building the tanks are cleaned regularly, maybe once a month. No idea what the standard here in HK is.
 
I don't think it's normal or reasonable to live with. Our water is the normal clear colour, as it should be. Speak to the management of your building.
 
Ours is clear too. I've looked on the Hong Kong water board place's webpage to see their water testing results - and they are pretty good. Definitely drinkable, even straight from the tap (depending on pipes/tanks). We filter it, boil it, and drink it. And I give it to our baby as well.
 
Just spoke to my husband - he reminded me that when we moved in it was really bad and at the time they said it was 'tank sediment' normal in HK.

We didn't worry too much - no kids at the time and no real plans to stay in our apartment long-term.

It then got much better for about a year but now it is getting significantly worse again.

Does anyone actually know what 'tank sediment' really is ??

Is it harmful ??

Do you guys think this is the case or is it something else ???

Thanks
 
Are you sometimes being informed of the water being stopped because of the tank cleaning ? it happens every month in our building...
You should inform your Management Office... and make sure they make a move !
 
Thanks - we've never had it - or maybe a couple of times in 3 years not enough that i've been aware of it !

I'll talk to them tomorrow - all this helps to give me ammunition !!!

Thanks
 
If you are in an old building with old pipes, sometimes the water can be brown. If it's not the tank, it could be rusty pipes. But usually if it's the pipes, the water quality gets better after running it for a few minutes, not worse.
 
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This happens to us a lot. In our case it's because the water supply has been turned off for work on another building - we live in a village house. We're never informed that it will happen and we often don't realise it's been turned off until the supply is switched on again and it is brown.

Another problem is it causes sediment to build up between the plates on taps, so they have to be replaced more frequently than you'd like to stop drips.
 
I have this problm in my building KKKK. Been living in HK for a few years and its the first time I've come across it. Moved into the apartment a few months ago and it was really brown then. We were also told that it was just sediment from the tank but the water this morning was brown again! I think I'll speak to management.
 
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