Not an RE question ... but a plumbing one.

Ask the super. He may have a better idea of the source of the problem.

This is the problem with the pipes feeding the water. The only thing you can do is install a filter system like the ones used for houses. I would first see if the problem is the hot or cold. The filters do not work for the hot water.

ask the super

It sounds like it is indeed the pipes & you wouldn't be responsible for a problem which originates with the building's pipes. I'd be very surprised if this is the first time the super has heard this story. Let us know what you find.

this is common in many nyc buildings -- if the pipes are not used very often -- the rust runs in the line. Your first tub may be used more often. the second line may have fewer users. I renovated my fours bathrooms and the ones that were rarely used had this issue. some lines in the building always ran. The entire building would have to run a filter -- which is prohibitively expensive. Run the water and suck it up.

I have the rusty water problem too...and it's in both the hot and cold line...and it spurts forth even after the water has been running for a while. It's more disturbing to me now that I have children and sometimes see the brown water pouring into their bath or onto their toothbrush...and I dare say that even when we don't see the brown stuff, it's there anyway. I wonder about the health implications over the long term. I wonder what the brown stuff is exactly..... just rust? In my building, only specific lines are having a problem.... any idea how expensive a fix this is for a coop?

First thing to do: ask your downstairs neighbors if they have the same issue.

The whole line has the problem...all 7 floors....

unfortunately, this will be very expensive to fix as all of the cold and hot lines will need to be replaced from their source, the basement. just imagine having the plumbers coming in and destroying 7 bathrooms and running new feeder pipes.

Susan B. -

water lines and waste lines are indeed different things, so what you are seeing is rust and not anything more tawdry -- but you are probably talking about a six-figure repair. Ask yourself if it is worth paying, say, an $800 assessment every month for two years or so in order to have clearer water.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

So, there's no lead in these pipes in prewar buildings? I always wondered about that. I know that the discoloration is rust, but rust indicates that the pipes are corroding. Would these pipes be lead or not? Anyone know?