Hard, white, plastic-like floating particles in your water can indicate that the "dip tube" in your hot water heater is breaking down.

The dip tube is located inside the body of your hot water heater and is a plastic pipe by which water is extracted from the tank. Recent changes in the chemical composition of the plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tube by some manufacturers have resulted in shorter life expectancy of the tube, sometimes as short as five years.

What can you do? For a quick fix you can flush your hot water heater to remove the buildup of particles, but this will not alleviate the problem for good. You can have the dip tube or the hot water heater replaced. Contact the manufacturer of the hot water heater for recommendations before taking any actions.