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Wait until your water utility confirms the main-flushing work is finished, then follow its instructions for your home. There is no single sequence for every water main flush: Toronto recommends running a cold tap near the water meter for 10 minutes, while Calgary names a bathtub cold tap and Currituck County describes opening fixtures one at a time from the highest floor downward after certain events.

What to do before flushing your home’s pipes

Check the notice or alert from the water utility that serves your home. Confirm that the work is complete and look for instructions specific to the event. Scheduled flushing, a water-main break, a service interruption, and lead-service-line replacement can call for different procedures.

Do not start running water while the utility is still flushing the main if its instructions tell you to wait. During scheduled flushing, the City of Toronto says, “Do not turn on your taps or flush your toilets.” It explains that doing so could draw sediment into household pipes, the water meter, hot-water tank, and filters. Toronto also advises switching off delayed-use appliances such as dishwashers, coffee makers, and sprinklers during the work. City of Toronto: Watermain Flushing Program.

How to flush your home’s pipes after the work

Use the fixture and sequence named by your utility rather than combining instructions from different cities or incident types. These official examples show why the local notice matters:

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Utility and situation Fixture and sequence Duration or endpoint
City of Toronto, watermain flushing Remove tap aerators and run the cold tap in the basement laundry room, or the tap nearest the water meter and main shutoff valve. 10 minutes. Source: City of Toronto.
City of Calgary, watermain flushing Run a bathtub tap on cold. 10 minutes, until the water clears. Source: City of Calgary.
Currituck County, after a break or hydrant flushing Start with the highest tap without an aerator, then open other faucets one at a time while moving downward through the home. Not stated in the cited instructions. Source: Currituck County.

These are local procedures, not interchangeable universal directions. If your utility specifies a different tap, order, duration, or endpoint, use that guidance.

Use cold water for a cold-line flush

If your utility’s procedure is to clear the cold-water lines, use cold taps and do not run hot water unless the instructions call for it. Currituck specifically cautions against using a hot tap for its post-event cold-line flush. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that flushing cold taps before hot taps helps prevent sediment from being pulled through the water heater, where it could get stuck. Its residential procedure is more extensive than many routine utility instructions, so check whether it applies before using it as a substitute for your utility’s notice. EPA Residential Flushing Procedure Handout.

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Remove and clean aerators when directed

An aerator is the screen or fitting at the end of many faucets. If the utility tells you to remove it, take it off before flushing so sediment can be cleared from the faucet outlet. Rinse the screen under running water and remove loose debris. The EPA handout suggests gently brushing trapped debris with a spare toothbrush. For hard-water buildup, it describes soaking the screen in distilled white vinegar for 20–30 minutes, then rinsing it.

Reinstall the aerator after flushing. Routine water-main flushing does not by itself mean you need a replacement. New York State’s lead-service-line replacement instructions say to consider replacing aerators if they are old or worn; that guidance concerns a different, more involved event. New York State Department of Health: Lead Service Line Replacement.

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What to do if the water stays discolored

If the water does not clear after the utility’s recommended flush, or your water pressure or service remains abnormal, contact the utility. Check for current alerts and follow any active local order rather than assuming a household flush resolves a main break, repair, or public-health advisory. Toronto advises residents to report persistent discolored-water problems; it also says to call 311 for a long-lasting loss of water. City of Toronto: Watermain Flushing Program.

A routine water-main flush and a boil-water advisory are different situations. The official guidance reviewed does not establish a universal rule that water is safe to drink after every flush in every jurisdiction. Check your utility’s current notice and any public-health instructions that apply to your address. Guidance about a pressure drop or what to do after a boil-water order is lifted applies to those specific circumstances, not automatically to an ordinary completed flush.

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