Air in the Water Lines of Your Costa Mesa Home? Sputtering Faucets, Milky Water and What to Do
Coughing faucets and spitting showers usually mean trapped air after a shutoff or repair. How to bleed the lines in Mesa Verde, College Park and Eastside homes, and…
You open the kitchen tap and it coughs, spits and sputters before settling into a steady stream. Sometimes the water looks milky for a few seconds and then clears from the bottom up. In most Costa Mesa homes that is simply air in the water lines, and it is usually easy to clear. When it keeps coming back, though, it is worth finding out why.
Common reasons air gets in
- The water was shut off for a repair, a water heater swap or utility work on the street, and air filled the empty pipes.
- Mesa Water District or a contractor flushed a nearby main, which can push air and fine sediment into service lines.
- A water heater was drained or replaced and not fully purged.
- Dissolved air comes out of solution as cold water warms up, which causes harmless milky water that clears in a glass.
How to bleed the lines
Start at the fixture closest to the water heater or the main and work out to the farthest one. Open both hot and cold slowly at each faucet and let them run until the flow is smooth. Do the same at tubs and showers, then flush each toilet. Upstairs fixtures and the highest point in the house go last. Most homes are clear in fifteen minutes.
When air means something more
If sputtering comes back day after day with no shutoffs, the air may be getting in through a weak spot. A pinhole in an older copper line, a loose fitting on the suction side of a recirculation pump, or a failing pressure reducing valve can all draw in or trap air. A hissing sound in a wall, a meter that moves when everything is off or a spike in your bill are signs to call for a leak check.
Costa Mesa housing and old pipes
Much of Costa Mesa was built in the 1950s and 1960s, from the ranch homes of Mesa Verde and College Park to the Eastside and Westside tracts. Many still have galvanized steel or early copper lines. Galvanized pipe rusts from the inside, and that scale breaks loose and traps pockets of air at elbows. Persistent sputtering together with brown water or weak flow is a strong hint the original pipe is near the end.
Clearing it for good with a repipe
A PEX-A repipe replaces corroded lines with smooth tubing that does not trap scale. After installation we pressure test the system, then purge every fixture so you start with clean, air-free lines. Work is permitted and inspected through the City of Costa Mesa Building Safety Division.
Related reading
Learn the difference between PEX-A and PEX-B or find out what to do about a high water bill. Neighbors can visit Newport Beach, Irvine and Tustin, or see every city we serve at repipeinc.com.
Faucets still sputtering?
We will check for leaks, test pressure and look at the condition of your pipes as part of a free quote. Get my free quote. Our AI system alerts a technician instantly, so you get a fast callback.
Repipe OC, 23821 Hillhurst Drive, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677, (949) 524-2362, CSLB #1087885 C-36.
Repipe OC near you
Not in Costa Mesa? The same crew serves nearby cities. See all Orange County service areas at repipeinc.com, or jump to a neighboring city:
Written by Repipe OC · CSLB #1087885 C-36 · 23821 Hillhurst Drive, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 · (949) 524-2362