Hello,

Basically we have a bacterial slime build up along our rising main,
which, when it flares up, makes our water slimy and horrible to wash
in/drink etc. It probably happened some years ago when the house was
left idle, ie stagnation occurred. The only thing that temporarily
helps is turning off the water at the outside stopcock, and back on
again after opening the garden tap. The water flows through at full
whack, and this clears the problem, albeit only for a few days...

Should I replace the whole rising main, or come up with something a
little more cost effective? Its doing me nut.

None wrote:
Hello,

Basically we have a bacterial slime build up along our rising main,
which, when it flares up, makes our water slimy and horrible to wash
in/drink etc. It probably happened some years ago when the house was
left idle, ie stagnation occurred. The only thing that temporarily
helps is turning off the water at the outside stopcock, and back on
again after opening the garden tap. The water flows through at full
whack, and this clears the problem, albeit only for a few days...

Should I replace the whole rising main, or come up with something a
little more cost effective? Its doing me nut.

I need more information to understand what is going on. What do you mean
by a rising main? Is this from a public or private supply? If from
public, there should be sufficient disinfection to prevent bacterial
growth in the supply pipe. That you mention a stopcock suggests a public
supply - but not necessarily the case. I'm loath to provide advice
without a better picture of your situation.

Replacing the rising main would do nothing, if you have a continued
supply water quality problem. More info. please.

On 27 Sep, 00:16, "clot" wrote:
None wrote:
Hello,

Basically we have a bacterial slime build up along our rising main,
which, when it flares up, makes our water slimy and horrible to wash
in/drink etc. It probably happened some years ago when the house was
left idle, ie stagnation occurred. The only thing that temporarily
helps is turning off the water at the outside stopcock, and back on
again after opening the garden tap. The water flows through at full
whack, and this clears the problem, albeit only for a few days...

Should I replace the whole rising main, or come up with something a
little more cost effective? Its doing me nut.

I need more information to understand what is going on. What do you mean
by a rising main? Is this from a public or private supply? If from
public, there should be sufficient disinfection to prevent bacterial
growth in the supply pipe. That you mention a stopcock suggests a public
supply - but not necessarily the case. I'm loath to provide advice
without a better picture of your situation.

Replacing the rising main would do nothing, if you have a continued
supply water quality problem. More info. please.

By rising main I mean the supply pipe from the outside stopcock
(driveway) to the attic tank and kitchen sink. It is from a public
mains supply, and the neighbours do not have this problem. When I
flush this pipe out through the back of the house at the highest
pressure possible, the water loses the 'sliminess.' There isn't much
of a chlorine residual, it was tested very low (0.02 mg/l or
something), so that has probably contributed.

I just find it strange that when I do this, that the quality improves
so much for a few days, then goes back to its previous state.

None wrote:
On 27 Sep, 00:16, "clot" wrote:
None wrote:
Hello,

Basically we have a bacterial slime build up along our rising main,
which, when it flares up, makes our water slimy and horrible to wash
in/drink etc. It probably happened some years ago when the house was
left idle, ie stagnation occurred. The only thing that temporarily
helps is turning off the water at the outside stopcock, and back on
again after opening the garden tap. The water flows through at full
whack, and this clears the problem, albeit only for a few days...

Should I replace the whole rising main, or come up with something a
little more cost effective? Its doing me nut.

I need more information to understand what is going on. What do you
mean by a rising main? Is this from a public or private supply? If
from public, there should be sufficient disinfection to prevent
bacterial growth in the supply pipe. That you mention a stopcock
suggests a public supply - but not necessarily the case. I'm loath
to provide advice without a better picture of your situation.

Replacing the rising main would do nothing, if you have a continued
supply water quality problem. More info. please.

By rising main I mean the supply pipe from the outside stopcock
(driveway) to the attic tank and kitchen sink. It is from a public
mains supply, and the neighbours do not have this problem. When I
flush this pipe out through the back of the house at the highest
pressure possible, the water loses the 'sliminess.' There isn't much
of a chlorine residual, it was tested very low (0.02 mg/l or
something), so that has probably contributed.

I just find it strange that when I do this, that the quality improves
so much for a few days, then goes back to its previous state.

Sorry None, I should have checked your name before replying. Still
having the problem, I see. Does the water service accept that you have a
problem? I appreciate that your neighbours are not getting the same
difficulty, but it is possible that you are on a balance point as
previously discussed and thus receiving "old water" so that the chlorine
content has been all but consumed. It would seem to me that the main and
your service pipe are in need of an air scour. Could you see whether the
water dept. will do this?

On 27 Sep, 16:17, "clot" wrote:
None wrote:
On 27 Sep, 00:16, "clot" wrote:
None wrote:
Hello,

Basically we have a bacterial slime build up along our rising main,
which, when it flares up, makes our water slimy and horrible to wash
in/drink etc. It probably happened some years ago when the house was
left idle, ie stagnation occurred. The only thing that temporarily
helps is turning off the water at the outside stopcock, and back on
again after opening the garden tap. The water flows through at full
whack, and this clears the problem, albeit only for a few days...

Should I replace the whole rising main, or come up with something a
little more cost effective? Its doing me nut.

I need more information to understand what is going on. What do you
mean by a rising main? Is this from a public or private supply? If
from public, there should be sufficient disinfection to prevent
bacterial growth in the supply pipe. That you mention a stopcock
suggests a public supply - but not necessarily the case. I'm loath
to provide advice without a better picture of your situation.

Replacing the rising main would do nothing, if you have a continued
supply water quality problem. More info. please.

By rising main I mean the supply pipe from the outside stopcock
(driveway) to the attic tank and kitchen sink. It is from a public
mains supply, and the neighbours do not have this problem. When I
flush this pipe out through the back of the house at the highest
pressure possible, the water loses the 'sliminess.' There isn't much
of a chlorine residual, it was tested very low (0.02 mg/l or
something), so that has probably contributed.

I just find it strange that when I do this, that the quality improves
so much for a few days, then goes back to its previous state.

Sorry None, I should have checked your name before replying. Still
having the problem, I see. Does the water service accept that you have a
problem? I appreciate that your neighbours are not getting the same
difficulty, but it is possible that you are on a balance point as
previously discussed and thus receiving "old water" so that the chlorine
content has been all but consumed. It would seem to me that the main and
your service pipe are in need of an air scour. Could you see whether the
water dept. will do this?

Hi clot,
Yeah I didnt actually check your name either, lol. Anyway, would an
air scour involve much disruption to the road? Our neighbours are very
closely all around us too, so I don't really think that there would be
much difference in our chlorine content tbh. The water depot doesn't
accept that we have a problem, saying our test results back in June
were 'clear.' The chlorine tested very, very low, and that was no
surprise as you can never smell or taste it really.

Would it even be possible to air scour our individual service pipe
though?

None wrote:
On 27 Sep, 16:17, "clot" wrote:
None wrote:
On 27 Sep, 00:16, "clot" wrote:
None wrote:
Hello,

Basically we have a bacterial slime build up along our rising
main, which, when it flares up, makes our water slimy and
horrible to wash in/drink etc. It probably happened some years
ago when the house was left idle, ie stagnation occurred. The
only thing that temporarily helps is turning off the water at the
outside stopcock, and back on again after opening the garden tap.
The water flows through at full whack, and this clears the
problem, albeit only for a few days...

Should I replace the whole rising main, or come up with something
a little more cost effective? Its doing me nut.

I need more information to understand what is going on. What do you
mean by a rising main? Is this from a public or private supply? If
from public, there should be sufficient disinfection to prevent
bacterial growth in the supply pipe. That you mention a stopcock
suggests a public supply - but not necessarily the case. I'm loath
to provide advice without a better picture of your situation.

Replacing the rising main would do nothing, if you have a continued
supply water quality problem. More info. please.

By rising main I mean the supply pipe from the outside stopcock
(driveway) to the attic tank and kitchen sink. It is from a public
mains supply, and the neighbours do not have this problem. When I
flush this pipe out through the back of the house at the highest
pressure possible, the water loses the 'sliminess.' There isn't much
of a chlorine residual, it was tested very low (0.02 mg/l or
something), so that has probably contributed.

I just find it strange that when I do this, that the quality
improves so much for a few days, then goes back to its previous
state.

Sorry None, I should have checked your name before replying. Still
having the problem, I see. Does the water service accept that you
have a problem? I appreciate that your neighbours are not getting
the same difficulty, but it is possible that you are on a balance
point as previously discussed and thus receiving "old water" so that
the chlorine content has been all but consumed. It would seem to me
that the main and your service pipe are in need of an air scour.
Could you see whether the water dept. will do this?

Hi clot,
Yeah I didnt actually check your name either, lol. Anyway, would an
air scour involve much disruption to the road? Our neighbours are very
closely all around us too, so I don't really think that there would be
much difference in our chlorine content tbh. The water depot doesn't
accept that we have a problem, saying our test results back in June
were 'clear.' The chlorine tested very, very low, and that was no
surprise as you can never smell or taste it really.

Would it even be possible to air scour our individual service pipe
though?

Hi,

I honestly don't know I'm afraid. Might be time to do some googling for
"air scour"/ plumbing contractors and the like. I've just been googling
for chlorine guidelines in E&W and could not find anything - must admit
I didn't go into every crevice. It does not appear that the chlorine
issue has not moved on since I was involved in the potable supplies side
of things.

I seem to remember that we set a standard of either 0.4 or 0.6 mg/l
leaving the treatment works and from samples in customers' taps would
expect a concentration of 0.1 mg/l as a minimum. At the level you are
quoting, I would be concerned about the potential for bacterial growth.
What did the water dept. say about 0.02? Do they have internal target
minima? I would be leaning on Dublin's water dept. with that sort of
concentration.

On 27 Sep, 11:05, wrote:
On 27 Sep,
None wrote:

By rising main I mean the supply pipe from the outside stopcock
(driveway) to the attic tank and kitchen sink. It is from a public
mains supply, and the neighbours do not have this problem. When I
flush this pipe out through the back of the house at the highest
pressure possible, the water loses the 'sliminess.' There isn't much
of a chlorine residual, it was tested very low (0.02 mg/l or
something), so that has probably contributed.

I just find it strange that when I do this, that the quality improves
so much for a few days, then goes back to its previous state.

If you could isolate the pipe at the stopcock and fill it with a chlorine
solution for a couple of hours, then thoroughly flush the pipe it could
improve matters. What type of pipe is it, and who owns the stopcock? Is it of
a WRC approved type, and could it be changed as well?

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

It seems to be black plastic LDPE type, I think, and measures 3/4 in.
Not sure what WRC approved means, sorry. We own the stopcock. How
could we enter the chlorine solution without breaking into the pipe?
It would be great to get this done with as little disruption as
possible.

"None" wrote in message
ups.com...
On 27 Sep, 11:05, wrote:
On 27 Sep,
None wrote:

By rising main I mean the supply pipe from the outside stopcock
(driveway) to the attic tank and kitchen sink. It is from a public
mains supply, and the neighbours do not have this problem. When I
flush this pipe out through the back of the house at the highest
pressure possible, the water loses the 'sliminess.' There isn't much
of a chlorine residual, it was tested very low (0.02 mg/l or
something), so that has probably contributed.

I just find it strange that when I do this, that the quality improves
so much for a few days, then goes back to its previous state.

If you could isolate the pipe at the stopcock and fill it with a chlorine
solution for a couple of hours, then thoroughly flush the pipe it could
improve matters. What type of pipe is it, and who owns the stopcock? Is
it of
a WRC approved type, and could it be changed as well?

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

It seems to be black plastic LDPE type, I think, and measures 3/4 in.
Not sure what WRC approved means, sorry. We own the stopcock. How
could we enter the chlorine solution without breaking into the pipe?
It would be great to get this done with as little disruption as
possible.

You have LDPE enter the house from the street. I assume a stop cock in the
garden or pavement. Inside the house another stop cock. From this copper
pipe to the tank, cold kitchen tap, etc.

Disconnect the pipe after the stopcock into the house. Drain the water. Cap
up the pipe that runs into the house. From the tank pour the solution down
the pipe. Leave and let the solution do its stuff.

The pipe from the underground stopcock to the house stopcock. You may be
able to push a tube down this to the street stopcock. Blow down the tube and
the water comes out of the pipe back up around the pipe; well most of it.
Again pour down solution. leave. Connect everything back up after and flush
through, If it re-emerges then contact the water people as it is on their
side.

On 27 Sep, 13:18, "Doctor Drivel" wrote:
"None" wrote in message

ups.com...



On 27 Sep, 11:05, wrote:
On 27 Sep,
None wrote:

By rising main I mean the supply pipe from the outside stopcock
(driveway) to the attic tank and kitchen sink. It is from a public
mains supply, and the neighbours do not have this problem. When I
flush this pipe out through the back of the house at the highest
pressure possible, the water loses the 'sliminess.' There isn't much
of a chlorine residual, it was tested very low (0.02 mg/l or
something), so that has probably contributed.

I just find it strange that when I do this, that the quality improves
so much for a few days, then goes back to its previous state.

If you could isolate the pipe at the stopcock and fill it with a chlorine
solution for a couple of hours, then thoroughly flush the pipe it could
improve matters. What type of pipe is it, and who owns the stopcock? Is
it of
a WRC approved type, and could it be changed as well?

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

It seems to be black plastic LDPE type, I think, and measures 3/4 in.
Not sure what WRC approved means, sorry. We own the stopcock. How
could we enter the chlorine solution without breaking into the pipe?
It would be great to get this done with as little disruption as
possible.

You have LDPE enter the house from the street. I assume a stop cock in the
garden or pavement. Inside the house another stop cock. From this copper
pipe to the tank, cold kitchen tap, etc.

Disconnect the pipe after the stopcock into the house. Drain the water. Cap
up the pipe that runs into the house. From the tank pour the solution down
the pipe. Leave and let the solution do its stuff.

The pipe from the underground stopcock to the house stopcock. You may be
able to push a tube down this to the street stopcock. Blow down the tube and
the water comes out of the pipe back up around the pipe; well most of it.
Again pour down solution. leave. Connect everything back up after and flush
through, If it re-emerges then contact the water people as it is on their
side.

My first reply didnt seem to go through. Basically two things
Doctor... firstly do you know what solution would be safe and
effective? And also regarding the tube, would it have to long enough
to actually reach the pavment stopcock from the kitchen??

On Sep 26, 3:31 pm, None wrote:
Hello,

Basically we have a bacterial slime build up along our rising main,
which, when it flares up, makes our water slimy and horrible to wash
in/drink etc. It probably happened some years ago when the house was
left idle, ie stagnation occurred. The only thing that temporarily
helps is turning off the water at the outside stopcock, and back on
again after opening the garden tap. The water flows through at full
whack, and this clears the problem, albeit only for a few days...

Should I replace the whole rising main, or come up with something a
little more cost effective? Its doing me nut.

Hi,

If you get a 'Y' strainer installed after the rising main, this will
tell if the algae is from there or not.

If you have a garden hose which is left connected with the garden tap
on and hose nozzle off, it could be the source of the problem if the
tap has no non return valve.

cheers,
Pete.