Community Chat

[brii]

It might be your water heater.

[NoelSeven]

On 12/12/2014 Tissyanne said: I am the OP. I am in Texas.

There is fracking in Texas and you can find maps online of the locations.

I agree with the other poster who said the first thing to do is check with your neighbors to see if they have the same problem, but call your county authorities asap.

[dooBdoo]

On 12/12/2014 dooBdoo said:

If it's only when you use hot water, it could be your water heater?

Otherwise, I wondered (as Noel asked) if there's fracking in the area.

Just to repeat myself... thinking about the water heater... do you see this in your toilets, where the water heater is certainly bypassed?

[bikerbabe]

I can't imagine an oily black substance coming from a water heater.

[Tissyanne]

I have not seen this in the toilets. I too am wondering about the hot water heater.

[Elstongunn]

It could be any black rubber hoses or rubber washers connected to your hot water heater that have broken down over time.

If you Google "black oily substance in hot water," there are quite a few people who've had the same complaint.

Check out this link to see if it's similar to your situation: http://www.plbg.com/forum/read.php?1,401654

[dooBdoo]

On 12/12/2014 Tissyanne said: I have not seen this in the toilets. I too am wondering about the hot water heater.

Thanks, Tissyanne! Then the cold water's not affected. Is the water heater old?

[bikerbabe]

My water heater does not have any rubber hoses. I wouldn't think rubber should be used.

[Tissyanne]

On 12/12/2014 dooBdoo said:

On 12/12/2014 Tissyanne said: I have not seen this in the toilets. I too am wondering about the hot water heater.

Thanks, Tissyanne! Then the cold water's not affected. Is the water heater old?

The hot water heater is about 6 years old.

[Elstongunn]

On 12/12/2014 bikerbabe said: My water heater does not have any rubber hoses. I wouldn't think rubber should be used.

Apparently some do...if they need to flex to connect to a coupler. That's what I gathered from the link, anyway! Another gentleman said that he had copper pipes, but that he discovered that some of the black rubber washers deteriorated over a period of time and would disintegrate, causing the black sooty flecks in the water.