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hheellpp
Mar 20, 2011, 12:09 AM
I have been working on a plumbing project and have had to turn the water off at the main valve a couple of times. When I turn it back on I have suds coming out of my taps (kitchen and bathroom). One tap is upstream from where I am working the other is down. If I let the water run for a while the water eventually run clean. Any thoughts? Thanks.

massplumber2008
Mar 20, 2011, 06:20 AM
The "suds" are most likley sediment that is trapped on the bottom of water pipes until the water is shut off and then turned back on which creates turbulence to the water flow and disturbs the sediment that when mixed with air results in a frothy/sudsy water flow for the first couple minutes of running the water. Here, at the faucets you will usually see, all air (spit/sputter), then dirty water (heavy sediment), then a mix of air, water and lighter sediment showing up as sudsy water until full flow and clear water as result.

It should be nothing to worry about... ;)

Mark

ma0641
Mar 20, 2011, 08:05 AM
Pipes under pressure also contain dissolved air. When you drain the pipes while working on them and then open the main, it's like opening a 2 liter soda and some "foam" shows up as it mixes with settled debris. As Mark indicated, most likely not a problem, let the water run fow a while to clean things out and also clean your faucet aerators.