Water appearance

Discoloured water which can be yellow, orange, brown, or black is caused by particles of iron or manganese, which usually come from cast iron water mains and have settled over time in the network. A burst water main, high demand during hot and dry periods, or improvement works on our water mains will increase the water flow and can stir up the sediment. Discolouration doesn’t usually last more than 24 hours and the only way to clear it is to let it work its way through the system.

Although it doesn’t look nice, the levels of iron and manganese found in discoloured tap water are unlikely to be harmful to your health.

Sometimes discoloured water may be due to a problem with the pipes or plumbing inside your property. If your neighbours’ water is clear, and water from your kitchen cold tap is clear, discoloured water from any other taps is usually a sign of an issue inside your property. If this is the case, you should contact your plumber for advice. We recommend the use of plumbers listed on WaterSafe – the national register for qualified and competent installers. You can search for one here.

• Run your taps to help flush the water through. The majority of the time, flushing your taps between half an hour to an hour will help clear any discolouration.
• Don’t do any laundry as the discolouration may stain the washing. If this happens, wait until the water is clear and wash your clothes as normal.

If you still have discoloured water at your kitchen tap after running your tap, please contact us. We may need to come and flush the system to help it along its way.

Enter your postcode below to check your area for any active incidents.

Air in water

Milky or cloudy water is due to lots of air bubbles in the water, which are so small it makes the water appear white. The air bubbles are quite harmless and will quickly clear. But if it doesn’t clear, it could be that the mains water is affected and not just your property. This could be due to work in the area, such as fixing a burst main. You can check if any work has been carried out near your property in our In Your Area site.

Cloudy water normally clears from your water within 24 hours. If it’s coming from the mains, the only way to clear it is to let it work its way through the system.

Scale or white particles in water

A fine scale can develop because of natural minerals that occur in the water. Heating water, particularly boiling, releases these and if you live in a hard water area, they appear as white flaky ‘bits’ or particles known as limescale. The quality of the water we supply to you is not affected by air or scale. In fact, tap water always contains some dissolved air and without it, can have an unpleasantly flat or stale taste.

Sometimes milky or white water may be due to a problem with the pipes or plumbing inside your property. If your neighbours’ water is clear, and water from your kitchen cold tap is clear, any milky water from any other taps is usually a sign of an issue inside your property. If this is the case, you should contact your plumber for advice.

It’s really easy to see if your white water is due to air or hardness particles in the water:

• Fill a clean glass with cold tap water — if the bubbles clear from the bottom up, then it’s air.
• Run your taps to help flush the water through. The majority of the time, flushing your taps will help clear cloudy or white water.
• If you live in a hardwater area and after clearing there is a fine layer of particles at the bottom of the glass, its likely due to hardness. For more information on water hardness, please see the ‘In your Area’ section.

We recommend the use of plumbers listed on WaterSafe – the national register for qualified and competent installers. You can search for one here.

If you’ve had air in the water at your kitchen tap and it does not clear after running your tap, please contact us. We may need to come and flush the system to help it along its way.

Enter your postcode below to check your area for any active incidents.

Air in water

Milky or cloudy water is due to lots of air bubbles in the water, which are so small it makes the water appear white. The air bubbles are quite harmless and will quickly clear. But if it doesn’t clear, it could be that the mains water is affected and not just your property. This could be due to work in the area, such as fixing a burst main. You can check if any work has been carried out near your property in our In Your Area site.

Cloudy water normally clears from your water within 24 hours. If it’s coming from the mains, the only way to clear it is to let it work its way through the system.

Scale or white particles in water

A fine scale can develop because of natural minerals that occur in the water. Heating water, particularly boiling, releases these and if you live in a hard water area, they appear as white flaky ‘bits’ or particles known as limescale. The quality of the water we supply to you is not affected by air or scale. In fact, tap water always contains some dissolved air and without it, can have an unpleasantly flat or stale taste.

Sometimes milky or white water may be due to a problem with the pipes or plumbing inside your property. If your neighbours’ water is clear, and water from your kitchen cold tap is clear, any milky water from any other taps is usually a sign of an issue inside your property. If this is the case, you should contact your plumber for advice.

It’s really easy to see if your white water is due to air or hardness particles in the water:

• Fill a clean glass with cold tap water — if the bubbles clear from the bottom up, then it’s air.
• Run your taps to help flush the water through. The majority of the time, flushing your taps will help clear cloudy or white water.
• If you live in a hardwater area and after clearing there is a fine layer of particles at the bottom of the glass, its likely due to hardness. For more information on water hardness, please see the ‘In your Area’ section.

We recommend the use of plumbers listed on WaterSafe – the national register for qualified and competent installers. You can search for one here.

If you’ve had air in the water at your kitchen tap and it does not clear after running your tap, please contact us. We may need to come and flush the system to help it along its way.

Enter your postcode below to check your area for any active incidents.

Air in water

Milky or cloudy water is due to lots of air bubbles in the water, which are so small it makes the water appear white. The air bubbles are quite harmless and will quickly clear. But if it doesn’t clear, it could be that the mains water is affected and not just your property. This could be due to work in the area, such as fixing a burst main. You can check if any work has been carried out near your property in our In Your Area site.

Cloudy water normally clears from your water within 24 hours. If it’s coming from the mains, the only way to clear it is to let it work its way through the system.

Scale or white particles in water

A fine scale can develop because of natural minerals that occur in the water. Heating water, particularly boiling, releases these and if you live in a hard water area, they appear as white flaky ‘bits’ or particles known as limescale. The quality of the water we supply to you is not affected by air or scale. In fact, tap water always contains some dissolved air and without it, can have an unpleasantly flat or stale taste.

Sometimes milky or white water may be due to a problem with the pipes or plumbing inside your property. If your neighbours’ water is clear, and water from your kitchen cold tap is clear, any milky water from any other taps is usually a sign of an issue inside your property. If this is the case, you should contact your plumber for advice.

It’s really easy to see if your white water is due to air or hardness particles in the water:

• Fill a clean glass with cold tap water — if the bubbles clear from the bottom up, then it’s air.
• Run your taps to help flush the water through. The majority of the time, flushing your taps will help clear cloudy or white water.
• If you live in a hardwater area and after clearing there is a fine layer of particles at the bottom of the glass, its likely due to hardness. For more information on water hardness, please see the ‘In your Area’ section.

We recommend the use of plumbers listed on WaterSafe – the national register for qualified and competent installers. You can search for one here.

If you’ve had air in the water at your kitchen tap and it does not clear after running your tap, please contact us. We may need to come and flush the system to help it along its way.

Enter your postcode below to check your area for any active incidents.