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Discolored water, odd taste or repeat pinholes.

A licensed plumber should cut out pipe and change devices, and a credentialed tester should test or repair backflow assemblies.

Customers put it like this

  • The water comes out discolored
  • My hot water smells like rotten eggs
  • We keep getting pinhole leaks
  • The water tastes off since the main break
Prepare this job in ForeBotFind another guide

Stop first if

  • After a backflow event, drinking water may hold something toxic or causticStop using the water. Call the water utility now. Call emergency services if anyone is hurt.
  • The rotten-egg smell is in the air near a gas appliance, not in the waterTreat it as gas. Leave the building and call the gas utility from outside.
01

Ask on the call

6

Homeowner? These are the questions a good technician will ask you. Having the answers ready makes the first visit count.

  1. Is it hot, cold or both, and at every tap?
  2. Was there a main break, a water shutoff or street work when it started?
  3. Do you have a softener, filter, reverse osmosis or UV unit, and when was it last serviced?
  4. What is the pipe made of?
  5. Are the pinholes on hot lines, cold lines or both?
  6. Is a hose, boiler fill or other system tied into the drinking water?
02

Bring

4
  • Calibrated pH meter or lab sample kit
  • Clean sample bottles
  • Thermometer
  • Flashlight
03

Check on site

6
  1. Line up the timing with utility work, main breaks, fire events and pump runs.
  2. At one fixture, run hot and then cold. Compare flow and color.
  3. Have pH read by a lab or on a calibrated meter before picking a remedy.
  4. Sample before and after each treatment device. Record cartridge date, sleeve condition and lamp age.
  5. Inspect air gaps and backflow devices. Trace every appliance drain to where it ends.
  6. Mark pinholes on a plan against hot lines, joints and turns. A licensed plumber cuts out a section to inspect the bore.
04

Keep on the record

5
  • Lab or meter results with sample points
  • Plan of pinhole locations
  • Treatment device dates and service notes
  • Photos of any cut-out section, inside and out
  • Dates of utility work near the start of the problem

General guidance for a qualified person, not a finding about any home. The person on site decides.