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amye · May 12, 2009, 03:49 AM

1st off I'm on well water and the well is only 2 years old at most. Yesterday we noticed the water pressure had dropped significantly then found out that the spicket on the front of the house had broken or somehow been pushed right out. No one had been using it or anything but it was laying on the ground and water was just spraying out. At very most it had been going for 30mins to an hour without our knowledge. We turned off the water to fix it and since then we have a lot of dirt coming through the faucets.

I am only guessing about the pressure spike part since I can't really think of why the spicket would have just come off the way it did. What could have caused that and will the dirt clear up on its own or what should we do?

speedball1 · May 12, 2009, 04:08 AM

I can only speculate on what's happened here. The broken hose bib might have lost enough water to lower the water table in the well allowing it to suck up dirt.
Hopefully the well recharged itself overnight and now all you have to do is flush out the lines including flushing the water heater. Do you need instructions on flushing the heater? Good luck, Tom

amye · May 12, 2009, 04:12 AM

Yeah if that's not too much trouble. As far as flushing the lines do I need to just let them run a bit and do I need to do that before or after the water heater?

speedball1 · May 12, 2009, 04:33 AM

I would remove all the aerators and let the faucets run until clear. If they stop running then you must shut then water off and clean out the inlet ports of the cartridge.
For long life and fewer troubles you should keep your heater clear of mineral build-up by FLUSHING NOT DRAINING on a regular schedule. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run until the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of (dirt in your case) red,(rust) followed by white or yellow grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). This shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Do this monthly to keep it clear. Now flush out your hot water lines on ALL fixtures that are affected . Now pull each aerator and clean the screens. Be sure you put them back together the same way you took them out. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my answer, Tom