5 ms·
My pipes are all copper, and the hot water contains a non trivial amount of lead (from the solder used to join the pipes). I had it tested - around 20 ppb. We
by _Adam 4y ago
My pipes are all copper, and the hot water contains a non trivial amount of lead (from the solder used to join the pipes). I had it tested - around 20 ppb.
We don't drink or cook with the hot water, but in theory if the plumbing was PEX we could.
- Der_Einzige 4y agoWhat year was your house built? I really hope this is not a risk on things built after 2000 (or 1980?)
- Spooky23 4y agoLead flux went away like 45 years ago. But sometimes galvanized pipe has some amount of lead in the zinc coating, and a mixed cooper/galvanized installation can accelerate corrosion. Post-Flint, lead is the new asbestos. Because the standard is zero tolerance, there’s alot of noise on the topic. PEX is great, but I’d personally always go for cooper if I could afford it. We tend to learn new things about plastic and risks over time.
- kube-system 4y agoFrom 1986-2011 the EPA/congress defined "lead free" pipes as containing no more than 8% lead. In 1996, they banned plumbing that is not "lead free" from being sold. In 2011, the "lead free" definition was strengthened to a weighted average of 0.25%.
- RetpolineDrama 4y agoFor new construction the ideal is solderless copper. You use pure copper pipes + ProPress. It's fast and the cleanest you can get outside of exotic glass plumbing.