Cold tap, both taps, or hot only
The first test is which taps are discoloured. If the cold tap runs discoloured — and especially if both hot and cold are discoloured at every tap in the house — the cause is almost certainly the supply: the Gippsland Water main. If only the hot is discoloured and the cold runs clear, the cause is inside the hot water system, and the usual culprit is a sacrificial anode that has been consumed.
When it is the Gippsland Water main
Gippsland Water's mains can stir up sediment after a burst, a fire, a change in demand, or maintenance on the network — the iron and manganese that settle in the mains lift into the water and come out brown or yellow at the tap. It is usually temporary and clears with the main. Run the cold tap (preferably the front garden tap, closest to the main) for a few minutes; if it clears, it was the main. If it persists across the whole house, log it with Gippsland Water — it is a supply issue, not a plumbing one.
When it is the hot-water anode
A storage hot water system — electric or gas — has a sacrificial anode, a magnesium or aluminium rod that corrodes instead of the tank. When the anode is consumed, the tank starts to corrode, and the first sign is discoloured hot water — brown or rusty at the hot tap, clear at the cold. Replacing the anode before the tank rusts through extends the life of the system by years and is a fraction of the cost of a replacement. If the hot is discoloured and the tank is more than a few years old, the anode is the first thing to check.
What we do
We isolate the cause: cold discoloured across the house points to the supply (Gippsland Water), hot-only discoloured points to the system. If it is the anode, we replace it and flush the tank; if the tank has already rusted through (water under the unit, or a pinhole leak), the tank is done and we replace it. We will not sell you a new hot water system when an anode replacement would have bought you years.
When to call us vs Gippsland Water
- Cold discoloured at every tap, hot and cold — log it with Gippsland Water; run the front tap to clear.
- Hot only discoloured, cold clear — call us; it is the hot water system, usually the anode.
- Sudden rusty hot water on an older tank — call us before the tank rusts through.
- Discoloured water only at one tap — likely a fixture or a local pipe, not the supply or the system.