How Do I Get Rid of Particles in Water?

Floating white particles are most often small bits of calcium or magnesium carbonate. Groundwater collects high concentrations of these minerals as it flows through the earth and turns into hard water as a result.

At Angel Water, we serve two regions that have very hard water: Northern Illinois and Southeast Florida. Hard water is also a common problem throughout the United States.

White calcium carbonate particles are particularly noticeable in water from the fridge. The reason for this is the colder temperature causes the calcium carbonate to solidify into flakes that are more visible than they would normally be.

A malfunctioning water heater can also sometimes produce white particles in water. As water heaters get older, their plastic dip tubes start to wear out and disintegrate. So, those tiny pieces you’re seeing could be little pieces of the dip tube infiltrating your system.

Brown flakes in water are usually either dirt, sand or rust. If you have well water, then the particles are likely dirt or sand from your private well. If the pieces are hard and irregularly shaped, they could be rust from the pipes in your home or municipal water mains.

The brown flakes could also be a symptom of a malfunctioning water softener. Salt-based water softeners have thousands of tiny little beads inside them, which soften the water as it flows over them. However, sometimes those beads can escape from the softener and get into your home’s water supply. You can easily identify this type of brown particle because each fleck is uniform in size and spherical.

Black specks in water typically indicate something needs repair. If the particles are very hard and small, then that something is likely your water filter. Water filters use granular activated carbon as part of their filtering process, and as the filter gets older, specks of carbon can break off into the water.

Solid and rubbery black particles in tap water often come from a degrading faucet washer or gasket. However, if the particles are tar-like and easy to smear between your fingers, then a disintegrating supply line hose is probably the culprit.

Black particles also frequently show up in well water. In this case, the specks consist of things like soil, mud, sand, organic matter and animal waste, which can infiltrate a well when it gets damaged.

Blue specks in water come from the same calcium and magnesium carbonate minerals that cause white particles. These white flecks turn blue when they flow through copper pipes. Copper plumbing most frequently causes this chemical reaction right after installation and when it gets old and starts to decay.