Help me get rid of these green rocks in my faucets.

January 31, 2006 6:43 PM

Green "rocks" in my plumbing fixtures: what are they?

House built in 1991, copper plumbing. Water softener, in which I'm using plain old salt. City water is very hard. These little green "rocks" build up in my faucets and shower heads.



This little pile came out of my kitchen faucet tonight; there's a penny for scale.

This thread seems to indicate that it's copper chloride, but I don't get any residue in the sink, just these little rocks inside the fixtures. The little rocks don't taste like soap.

I can take the fixtures apart every now and then and clean them out, but I'm tired of that. Tell me how to defeat the Green Rocks!

posted by chazlarson to home & garden (15 answers total)

Fascinating.. what happens when you add some vinegar to some of these little rocks?
posted by Mercaptan at 7:08 PM on January 31, 2006

It does look like copper chloride. It should dissolve in ammonia if you want to test. Two possibilities: your local water is loaded with copper, OR your local water is acidic, which is dissolving your copper pipes.

There are acid neutralizers available, which actually increase the hardness of the water but decrease the acidity. Hard to say what's best for you. Maybe just stop running the water softener, which might be making the copper problem worse?
posted by jellicle at 7:15 PM on January 31, 2006

Definitely copper chloride. If there's copper in the water, keep in mind that copper is toxic. ;-)

Because of that, I'd say that it's much more likely that somewhere along the line, your copper pipes are disintegrating. Not a happy revelation, sorry.
posted by frogan at 7:20 PM on January 31, 2006

Small amounts of copper from plumbing leach into water, particularly hot water and water that has been sitting in the pipes for several hours or overnight. Acidic (low pH) water will leach more copper than more basic (high pH) water will. Soft water is likely to contain more copper than hard water because it doesn’t contain the minerals that build up a protective layer on the interior of pipes, preventing copper from leaching. Blue-green water stains below faucets are an indicator of copper in the water. -Dartmouth.edu

SUGGESTED TREATMENTS: Depending on the acidity level, use appropriate treatment such as aeration, soda ash feeder, or neutralizing filter. - VaTech

6.1 When does a softener resin need replacement?

When the water does not become soft enough, one should first consider problems with the salt that is used, or mechanical malfunctions of softener components. When these elements are not the cause of the unsatisfactory water softening, it may be time to replace the softener resin, or perhaps even the entire softener. Through experience we know that most softener resins and ion exchanger resins last about twenty to twenty-five years. - Lenntech FAQ

So you likely have acidic water which is leaching copper from your pipes and causing the blue/green hue in your deposits. There would only be stains in your sink if there is copper in the sink assembly, no? Due to the chunks and the faint color, I would also guess your water softener is malfunctioning.
posted by roboto at 8:03 PM on January 31, 2006

Here because of all the limestone in the water -- a.k.a. calcium carbonate, a.k.a. chalk -- we get white buildup on dark dishes left to air-dry. At first I thought it was something poisonous and industrial, but once my "SO" explained it I realized it's good for me. But not as good as San Antonio's, apparently.

Why do people soften their drinking water? Do these same people also buy "mineral water"? And can one soften only some water, like the line to the tub but not to the kitchen sink?
posted by davy at 8:26 PM on January 31, 2006

Softening water means taking the magnesium and calcium (+2 ions) out of the water and replacing them with sodium (+1). "Hard" water sometimes tastes a little funny, and it does a poor job cleaning and rinsing, vs. "soft" water. In the car wash industry, especially on big touchless tunnels, we use three 30-gal-per-minute softeners together to supply pretty much everything in the wash with soft water. When the softeners aren't working (or some dumbass doesn't recharge the salt), it's very apparent, as the cars just don't come out as clean.
People soften their drinking water because every tap you might use to get drinking water is also one that is used for washing at least *something*.
posted by notsnot at 9:09 PM on January 31, 2006

Most installs of water softeners that I have seen have a bypass for the kitchen sink, or a second line run to a water dispenser at the sink or fridge because you are not supposed to drink softened water regularly due to its higher sodium levels (especially not good for babies).
posted by jeffmik at 9:18 PM on January 31, 2006

Why do people soften their drinking water?

Drinking water is often the same pipe as your shower/tub water, and super-soft water for bathing is an incredibly luxurious feeling. I recall the first shower I took in rural Washington state, after having lived my entire life in cities. Oh. My. God.
posted by frogan at 9:44 PM on January 31, 2006

Re soft water: I thought it was usually only plumbed on the hot water line, since people drink cold water and don't usually wash with it. That's certainly how culligan installed it houses when I was growing up in Salt Lake City.

The problem with hard water and washing generally has to do with its intereaction with soap.
posted by Good Brain at 10:09 PM on January 31, 2006

Some other data points.

None of the neighbors I have spoken to have this problem, so I don't think it's endemic to the city water. Most of the houses are of similar vintage, built by the same builder. I think if the city water were that acidic, everyone in the neighborhood would be seeing this. So it appears to be something within the walls of my house, which I suppose points to the softener. I'll contact the softener company for their opinion.

I should note that the little pile there is probably a year's worth of buildup. I just replaced the kitchen faucet last night, and when I removed the sprayer attachment to put of Freecycle I was surprised to see the degree of rockitude in the faucet.

I notice it more often in the shower and bathroom faucets.

So, is my only recourse replumbing the house with PVC? OR is there a replacement salt I can use in the softener to ameliorate the problem?
posted by chazlarson at 7:21 AM on February 1, 2006

Grr. "put on Freecycle"
posted by chazlarson at 7:24 AM on February 1, 2006

The water softener itself has a 'resin bed'. Could you be looking at resin beads that have found their way into the faucet screen? I would take them to a plumbing shop that works with water softeners and get their opinion.
posted by 55TaskForce at 10:57 AM on February 1, 2006

Waaaaaait a minute.

I thought soft-water in the shower caused that icky, eel-like slipperiness when the soap won't wash off.

And hard water makes the soap come right out. Am I backward?
posted by Baby_Balrog at 12:33 PM on February 1, 2006

>> I thought soft-water in the shower caused that icky, eel-like slipperiness when the soap won't wash off.

Well, I guess you could characterize it that way. I personally like the slippy feel. But that's just me.

>> And hard water makes the soap come right out. Am I backward?

Hard water makes soap less effective.
posted by frogan at 5:23 PM on February 1, 2006

Thank you, frogan. Jesus my brain fills from reading this site.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 4:50 PM on February 4, 2006