<p>I have black stuff coming out of my outdoor hose bibs, but nothing inside the house
it’s of variable size so when you see it in a bucket of water it looks rather like planting mix
it’s the color of asphalt,
it’s thin, but thicker than rust,
It’s crispy in your fingers-I can break the pieces easily
The sizes vary from specks up to about half a dime size</p>
<p>The lines are only about 3 years old and are metal. </p>
<p>Anyone have any ideas?</p>
<p>Steel pipes?
Although we have some steel pipes and have never had particulate in the water.
*Iron may also be present in water in combination with organic matter. Many natural and man-made organic compounds will react, particularly with ferrous iron, to form heavily colored compounds which can cause severe staining. These compounds are usually very stable, and tie up the iron so that it is not free to react as are other forms. The iron bounds into such compounds called “chelated” or “organic” and clearly present problems in water treatment.</p>
<p>“Iron bacteria” is a term applied to a group of small organisms which appear to convert ferrous iron to the ferric state as part of their metabolism. It is suspected that these organisms may even attack steel pipe to obtain iron, thus causing a form of corrosion. As the iron bacteria grow, they develop masses of gelatinous and filamentous organic matter, which physically trap the ferric hydroxide produced. Heavy growths of these organisms have been known to plug pipes completely, but it is more common for clumps to break away during periods of high flow to produce “slugs” of iron laden water, which can cause all of the previously described staining problems.*
<a href=“Iron Removal with Water Softeners - Robert B. Hill Co.”>http://www.hillwater.com/resources/iron-removal.aspx</a></p>
<p>It is a galvanized steel stand pipe on what they call a yard hydrant.</p>