You Just Moved In. Here Is What to Do About the Water.

Nobody hands you a file on the water when you get the keys to your new apartment or home. Meanwhile, the water has been sitting in pipes you have never seen, in a house whose last owner may or may not have replaced anything. The good news is that sorting this out costs almost nothing and takes about an hour of attention spread over a week. Key Takeaways — The short version Flush the pipes hard on day one, because water that sat still while the house was empty is the worst water that house will ever give you. Pull your utility’s annual report, which is free and takes a minute. For your convenience we have a free tool you can use below for this. Find out what your service line is made of — there is a five-minute test you can do with a coin and a magnet. Test only if something in those first three steps raises a flag. Buy a filter last, once you know what you are buying it for. STEP TWO, DONE FOR YOU Pull your area’s water quality report What your utility detected, at what level. About 30 seconds by ZIP. Check my ZIP → Step one: flush it, properly If the house sat empty for even a few weeks, the water inside those pipes has been in contact with the plumbing the entire time and metals ...