Complaint Review: RUUD - Rheem

We built a new home in 1997 and bought all plumbing materials from Noland Co. in Decatur, AL. This included a RUUD hot water heater. A local licensed plumber installed the plumbing.

Problems with the hot water heater started in 2005. We noticed a lot of sediment in our water supply. All appliances including the dishwasher, washing machine, and the faucet strainers were clogging up.

On investigation of the water heater we found that the sediment was coming from the plastic dip tube inside the water heater. The tube itself had disintergrated into thousand of pieces and was now settled in all our appliances and in our drinking water. To our dismay, we realized we had been drinking this contaminated water for several months.

We immediately called Noland Co. in Decatur, AL. where we purchased the Hot Water Heater. We were told that it was not their problems and they gave us an 800 number to RUUD/Rheem Manufacturing. Upon speaking with someone from RUUD we learned that there had been a class action law suit that had allowed reimbursement for these heaters up to the year 2000.

Since it was now 2005, they were no longer responsible and we would have to bear our own expenses requarding fixing or replacing the Hot Water Heater even though we were never notified of the faulty water heater or of the class action lawsuit.

In some of the email rebuttals to this website we noticed that there are people who uphold this wrong doing by this company. I cannot help but wonder if this kind of contamination had been pumped into their stomach or their families stomach, if their outlook would be different.

We have no idea of what long term health problems may result from the chemicals in the plastic dip tube that has been consumed by us.

We feel there is still room for legal action for failure to notify all consumers.

Jimmy
Moulton, Alabama
U.S.A.