Clogged Pipes and Crystalline Chunks

Presuming the chunks breaking off are coming into you from the mains - I'd suggest a smallish pool trash filter installed downstream of the mains cutoff. Run down as often as needed, cut off the mains, open the trash filter and fish out the chunks.

Now if the chunks are coming from your own plumbing you have an entirely different problem.

I have an 'entirely different problem' as I have installed a whole house filter a few years ago. I think the chunks I'm getting now may be coming from the hot water tank, which I can of course drain, however, I'm afraid some chunks may have broken off the elements. I'm less worried about prevention, at this point because I have a clogged hot water supply line that will require major surgery if I can't find some chemical to dissolve the chunks. Anyway, thanks for the advice. Maybe I should have made myself a bit clearer on where the situation now stands. I live about a block and a half from the main municipal reservoir and others have had similar problems to mine.

Gotcha - no harm

Not the easy solution - but if you think it is the hot water tank itself you can always trap the output.

Easy to tell, have you had to clear any cold lines?

My temptation would be like yours, take a day and flush the tank - but anything that is going to be effective in a day also has disposal problems. By now you are bound to be frustrated - I'd be reaching for the pool acid.

Be nice to have a chemist wander by and clarify the Ph, blueish-white crystals bit for us.

Sounds good, he could do that AND fill the filter with white winegar, let it run thru the plumbing and flush all faucets after an hour or two, repeat as necesary.

Check with a good mineralogist. Blue clay is a sign of copper, last I knew.

Is your hot water supply copper? May be corrosion of the copper lines due to minerals in the water.

I had the same problem with an electric water heater that crapped out after only 5 years. I had replaced one element only to find that crystalline crust all over it. Two years later the tank sprung a leak. It may have been an electrolysis issue. The replacement has lasted 15 years without a problem. Check to see that the tank is grounded.

Maybe.

Is the water pH > 8.0, and is it hard? If it is, the crystals are a combination of calcium or magnesium and copper. Lowering the pH will dissolve away the deposits but will also corrode your pipes if they're not made of thermoplastic.

Another possible way (assuming hard water is at least the basis of the problem) is a water softener....that will at least stop the chunks building up in the house system and gradually dissolve any that are there now. But it will probably take more than a year to get the water heater completely free....

The water softened works also as a filter, though it might get problems with "chunks" so install a pre softener sieve....

I had chunks of material plugging my fixtures for a while. They appeared to be white crystals and were easily crumble between fingers. They plugged my fixtures solid. Mostly the kitchen sink, which gets the most use,

If you think it's your water heater you may want to check on the dip tube. It's the tube that runs from the cold water inlet at the top of the tank to the bottom of the tank.

For some water heaters made during some period (I can't recall the years, it was about a five year period) the dip tubes were defective. The tubes began to disintegrate after a few years.

You can check if this is your problem by disconnecting the cold water feed and removing the fitting from the tank. You can remove the dip tube to see if it is disintegrating. Mine was completely gone!

A trip to the local plumbing supply house and a few dollars took care of it. If this is the problem, it's a very inexpensive and easy fix.