Water problem
Sediment and cloudy water
Sand, silt, rust flakes, or air. Cloudy water is often harmless air that clears on its own, so the first step is a test that costs nothing.
What you might notice
- Grit in the bottom of a glass or in aerator screens
- Cloudy or milky water from the tap
- Reduced flow at fixtures
- Appliance inlet screens clogging
Air or actual particles
Cloudy water is very often air, and the test costs nothing. Fill a clear glass and set it on the worktop. Watch how it clears.
If it clears from the bottom upward as tiny bubbles rise, that is dissolved air coming out of solution. It is completely harmless, it needs no equipment, and it is extremely common after any work on the mains or after a period of high pressure.
If particles drift down and settle into a layer at the bottom, that is sediment. If the water stays uniformly cloudy after several minutes, that is fine turbidity and it needs a finer filter than a standard cartridge.
Where the particles come from
On municipal water, sediment is usually iron oxide and mineral scale that has accumulated in the distribution mains and then been disturbed. Hydrant flushing, a main break, or a change in flow direction can all release it, and it clears on its own within days.
On a private well, sediment is more often sand or silt being drawn in, which can indicate a screen issue, a pump set too low in the casing, or a dropping water table. Persistent sand is worth investigating as a well problem rather than treating indefinitely as a water problem.
Flakes of rust that appear only on hot water usually come from a corroding water heater tank, in which case the tank is the thing that needs attention.
The cheap fix that often is the whole fix
Unscrew the aerator from the end of the tap and look at the screen. A clogged aerator is behind a large share of low-flow complaints, and cleaning it takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing.
Where a filter is warranted, staging matters. A coarse cartridge followed by a finer one lasts far longer than a single fine cartridge, because the first stage protects the second and the pair shares the load.
Be clear about what this does not do. Sediment filtration improves clarity and protects downstream equipment. It removes nothing dissolved, so lead, nitrates, PFAS, hardness, and bacteria all pass straight through.
How to confirm it
Fill a clear glass and let it stand. If it clears from the bottom upward, that is settling sediment. If it clears from the bottom up as bubbles rise, that is dissolved air and needs no treatment at all. Grit trapped in an aerator screen confirms particulates.
The test that settles this is glass settling test, then a turbidity reading if it persists. We include what we can measure on site in a free water test, and we will tell you plainly when a certified laboratory is the right next step rather than anything we can do at your kitchen tap.
When not to treat it
Milky water that clears from the bottom upward within a minute is air, usually after work on the mains, and it needs nothing. Cleaning a clogged aerator screen also solves many low-flow complaints without any filter at all.
Treatment options that actually apply
These are the equipment types that address this problem. Each page states what the equipment does not do, so you can rule it out quickly if your situation does not match.
- Sediment filters. A mechanical filter that captures sand, silt, rust flakes, and other particles.
- Whole-house filtration. A filter plumbed into the main line where water enters the building, so every tap, shower, and appliance downstream is fed treated water.
- Well water systems. A treatment train assembled around a current laboratory test, in stages.
What none of these will do
- Anything dissolved. Lead, nitrates, hardness, and PFAS pass straight through.
- Taste and odour, which need carbon.
- Bacteria.
Getting it installed
Once a test has confirmed the problem and narrowed the equipment, the practical questions are access, space, and whether anyone's permission is needed. Those are covered on the installation pages, along with what a visit involves and how long it takes.
- Free water testing. 45 to 60 minutes.
- All installation services
- What installation costs
Other water problems
Sources
- Secondary Drinking Water Standards. US Environmental Protection Agency, 2024.
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