teh recirc pump may be why you are seeing it at other fixtures now.

if the water is not brown at the closest fixture to teh tank, then it likely is not the tank itself. it may be an upstairs unused fixture or supply line starting to rust out. my house had metal supply lines fromthe shut offs to the fixtures. i have replaced most of them because they were 1970's vintage and rusting on the inside.

davidandkasie has the right idea: Copper doesn't rust.

Look for places where there is iron pipe. That could be the water heater tank, but you would see it at all of the faucets.

Usually the supply lines, if they were metal flex lines, were chrome plated copper or just copper.

What about the circulating pump itself? It's often cast iron if it isn't bronze.

Did you figure out what your problem was? Our home was built in 2001. We moved in last year and the tub in the master bath runs rust colored hot water and then clears. If you use the tub daily, it is not as dark. There is clear water from every other hot water faucet, even the faucets that are rarely used. Our hot water heater has been cleaned out. Does anyone have a clue as to what could be causing this?

The metal supply lines are either plain copper tubing or chrome plated brass so there is no problem with rust being created in the supply lines.

All the pumps certified for domestic potable water circulation are brass or bronze so here again, there is no rust being created here.

Have the water tested. Heat is a catalyst that releases suspended iron in the water and this is what generally accounts for the rusty appearance in hot water.

Why could it only be coming from one faucet in the house? I don't understand.

Thank you
Deb

Hi Deb, I wish I had a concise answer for you, but I don't. We did end up replacing our hot water heater, there wasn't a choice. We heard a couple of things from our responsible/reliable and longstanding plumber- First that the new hot water heaters are warranted for six or seven years, so yours could be going out. Our rusty water was always in the bathroom furthest from the heater. We've lived her 30 years and believe me, each time it began in that bathroom and either spread or the tank began to leak next.
The other thing we did was change a nickel *(I think that's the metal) fitting that led from the copper piping to the hot water heater itself. That could have been the source of the rust as well. Finally we put our recirculating pump on a timer. The plumber said that the constant 24/7 flow of water could be causing a reaction (electroferisis?) from the hot water. He also said that this wears on the tank too.
So take it for what it's worth, we still had to replace the heater. Sigh...

Thinking I may have this.....FWIW......Had the same problem at mom's house a few years ago. House custom-built in late seventies. Problem occurred at two locations, both tubs. All copper plumbing.

When we tore into it, we found that both locations had short sections of galvanized piping inappropriately installed in the connection for the hot water valve. Some stupid $%*# did this for some reason during original construction. Once covered it couldn't be seen. Over the years the galvanized section corroded and every time the water was turned on for that line, it ran brown, then cleared. The corrosion was so bad on one section, it had eaten entirely through and was leaking.

When those sections were cut out and replaced, the problem went away.

Thinking that may be what's at work at your location.

Thank you to all for your feedback! Asolo... that sounds to me like what we may have going on. I'll check it out.

With a smile...
Deb

Galvanized pipe, that's the term I was searching for! I think we have/had a similar problem. Our home was built in '74 and W/o breaking the wall in the "kids" bath, we won't know if the problem is there too. However after changing the tank and the galvanized wall connector, the rusty water cleared right up. Good luck!