I purchased a house in downtown OKC. If the bathtub has been sitting for a while, when I first turn on the water (either cold or hot) a small amount of rust appears. It only takes 24 hours for the rust to build to a point where it is visible.
My diagnosis:
Using the picture below, I assume my problem is between the brass hardware and the spout since the copper / brass shouldn't rust. Below the brass fittings is likely some sort of galvanized steel. Do you agree? How hard of a project would it be for me to change out the steel myself?



Thank you in advance.

Replumbing an area that has galvanized steel is a pita, but can be done. The rust buildup may be caused in a section of the pipe that is hidden in the wall.

Is it just the bathroom, or will you have to repipe the entire house?

Thanks Histag. Agreed. I am a bit nervous about how "seized" those pipes will be with rust.

However, nothing is hidden in the wall except what you see there. I can follow the copper pipes to the laundry shoot that goes down to the basement. I haven't bothered following them from the basement yet however.

Your problems is two/three different metals in contact with your running water: this creates a very small electrical current plus another potential current running though your system assuming your electrical wiring is not grounded correctly. This may be the cause of your rust occurring at the galvanized fittings...

Get rid of the galvanized if you can.

I'd recommend replacing that run of galvanized plumbing that's visible, but I can't help but wonder if there's anything more out there. Water should drain from the tub spout to the valve after it's run and the pipes would be dry most of the time.

There was a recent episode of "Ask this old house" in which the plumber guy replaced something very similar to yours.

Find it online and watch it; should help allay your fears on touching the pipes. But should be an easy job. Might take a little longer, due to the different materials, but overall would make life a whole lot nicer.

~egon

I bet you have some additional galvanized piping in the house. The picture looks like galvanized was running to the bathtub at one point and replaced with copper. You can see the two disconnected lines.

Remove the galvanized and that will solve your rust problem.

Thank you all. I think / hope I am done with this Tub's plumbing. I moved the spout up and removed the 1920s spout and replaced with overflow. No more rust!


Removing the 1920s spout was pretty difficult. I ended up buying a torch to heat the nut.

I have to ask, what's it look like from the bathroom side? Is the original tile still there?

I'd also like to see a pic of the other side before you redid it to see what kind of spout was on there to cover the large overflow hole that the original spout was sticking out of...