Help - water turning my client's hair green

[Adam Veitch]

Can anybody help please.

Client has for about three months suffered from a blue tinge to the water that is turning her hair green. She states that it effects all the water in the house, but I can only see evidence in the two shower units (where the trays are starting to go green).

The only work that has been undertaken is a new cylinder was installed about 5 months ago, but not sure how that could effect anything.

I'm lost as there is no obvious contamination in the cold water tank.

Any help gratefully received.

Regards

Adam

 

[justlead1]

Hi. Is the water supply from a well? As is has the characteristics of cupro solvency ( The dissolving of copper) A sample can be tested by your local Water Company.

 

[gaspastemania]

I would get a water sample from your local water board tested , also ask her if she uses laco flux for shampoo .

 

[Adam Veitch]

The house is supplied by standard UK mains water. She is based in Berkshire so the water is hard.

I just can't get my head round the fact that she has lived there 10 years and it only started 3 months ago. I've read about copper bleaching in acidic water, but nobody else in her street has the same complaint.

I can see no problems with the shower pump that feeds two showers in the house (both trays are now getting stained green/blue).

She does have dyed hair and I understand that is much more susceptible to this problem, but again, she has had dyed hair for years and that wouldn't effect the shower trays.

Are there companies that do water analysis by post or do I just tell her to contact the water undertaker ??

Thanks again for help so far.

Adam

 

[royston]

Sounds like some one has dropped one of those cistern tablets ( that turn your hands green when changing a ball valve or syphon ) into the cylinder. Did she pay the bill for the cylinder job ??

 

[leelister6]

Must have something to do with the cylinder as it started just after it was fitted. Could it be starting to corrode inside? Never heard of one doing so before but the quality of copper pipe has got really crap at the mo so wonder if it was a cheap dodgy cyl?

 

[Adam Veitch]

Thanks for replies.

It's only very bad in the showers, the WC cisterns aren't stained blue nor are the various basins in the house.

Looks like no cure as even googling it just highlights the same problem, but no cure.

Cheers

Adam

 

[stevetheplumber]

Think the only way out is remove the cylinder for inspection ive seen anodes in the bottom of cylinders in a heap of green sludge

 

[REDSAW]

She does have dyed hair and I understand that is much more susceptible to this problem, but again, she has had dyed hair for years and that wouldn't effect the shower trays.
contact the water undertaker.

got it in one....self-inflicted. i bet she has changed her hair dye?.
flux or brobakblue in her tank=(not paid or larking around). could also be sacraficial annode in cylinder?.
check all tanks and get a water analysis free from water board.

 

[Blackcatgas]

Thanks for replies.

It's only very bad in the showers, the WC cisterns aren't stained blue nor are the various basins in the house.

Looks like no cure as even googling it just highlights the same problem, but no cure.


The wc cisterns will be fed off the mains, the showers will be fed of the water tank in the loft for the cold and the copper cylinder for the hot, the green staining sounds like copper sulphate
Cheers

The wc cisterns will be fed off the mains, the showers will be fed of the water tank in the loft for the cold and the copper cylinder for the hot, the green staining sounds like copper sulphate

Adam

The wc cisterns will be fed off the mains, the showers will be fed of the water tank in the loft for the cold and the copper cylinder for the hot, the green staining sounds like copper sulphate

 

[SafeGasInstall]

is she that good looking Adam ,that you are doing this for her

 

[Derrick229]

I would get samples from every outlet and get them analysed (just make sure you label each sample and which outlet its from)

Sounds like an iffy cylinder to me though, but this did happen at LHR, when the tanks were cleaned and chlorinenated (?) and no one flushed the tank or pipe work

 

[kay-jay]

i keep getting callouts to a private flat that keeps getting blockages on the hot tap. each time i remove the tap there is a clove of garlic!

bet the original owner give the plumber the runaround and ended up stinking of garlic each time he bathed as a result lol, i defo reckon it could be similar situation where a blue bog thingy has been dumped in cylinder

 

[cr0ft]

It's a real long shot but I'm wondering whether it's down to flux being left in the cylinder as a result of the plumbing i.e. where the connections flushed out properly prior to connecting them to the cylinder?

Given that it all started when the cylinder was installed, that's the only logical conclusion in my mind. Remaining flux is accelerating the corrosion of the cylinder.

 

[cr0ft]

is she that good looking Adam ,that you are doing this for her

Probably not that good looking with Green hair I would bet!

 

[ecowarm]

Is this the lady?