Leaks in Copper Caused By Chloramines - What Are They Doing To You If They Can Eat Pipes?

 I pulled this from a friend's page.  We talk about this stuff all the time because a bunch of us are in the "water business."  

Tap water typically is not great.  It is treated fairly well but the chemicals stay in the water even as it reaches your home.  So you drink and take showers and water your lawn with some nasty stuff.

In time it is theoretically possible those chemicals and other contaminants build up in your body and give you health issues.  Some people will be more sensitive to this than others will.

Bottom line is you should get that all removed as it enters your home.  Install a really good quality water filter.

And to drive this concept home...  This video is about the fact that the chemicals in the water, primarily disinfectants like chloramines, are powerful enough to even damage copper pipes.  

That's how these pinhole leaks happen.  The chloramines eat at the copper.  Imagine what they are doing to your insides? 

You need to take care of this quick.

The video below taken by Stewart Plumbing and Heating in Los Angeles, shows just how devastating even the tiniest pinhole leak can cause.

Pinhole leaks in copper pipes ruin drywall.

Look at all the torn out walls and damage that had to be done just to get at that tiny little leak. It’s maddening.

Tiny pinhole leak

Even a small leak causes a big mess

That is a big chunk of drywall and insulation that needs to be replaced with new

The costs are huge when these leaks get out of hand.

These leaks are being fixed but how do you keep from getting them again?

Some people replace all their copper plumbing with new copper or with PEX plastic pipe. That’s going to be expensive and unnecessary.

Some will try to use epoxy pipe lining, which is really not the right use for this. Epoxy is problematic.

Your best option is to get the leaks fixed and then install a whole house water filter with a chloramine removal capability.

Chloramines have been shown to break down the copper pipe. It is not a questions of copper pipe quality.

Chloramines also break down PEX.

So you need to remove them and change the overall water chemistry so it does not eat at your plumbing.

Plus, the high-quality water filters will deliver clean, clear water to every faucet in your home. It’s a good investment for your home plumbing infrastructure as well as your own health.

Pinhole prevention water filters Los Angeles CA

Posted on October 21, 2020 by William Smart in Blog

What Makes Water So Awesome?

 Here is a nice little video about water.  I liked it.  Maybe you'll like it too.

Other cool videos about water filtration, water quality, water testing.

Here is Why PEX May Not Be a Good Re-Piping Choice in California

I thought this was an interesting little interview and video.  

 

In my line of work, I often am questioned about the quality of our water due to all the chemicals put in it to disinfect it.  Those chemicals do have impact on many aspects.  Plumbing pipes due show signs of decay.  This interview talks about that a little bit.

 

Interviewer: Rick, assume that I’m a homeowner and I’ve had like four pinhole leaks in the past. Do I need to re-plumb my house with PEX?

Rick: Absolutely not. We’ve talked about and are aware of certain things in terms of concerns with the plastic tubing. But the bottom line is we can prevent you from having any further pinhole leaks by simply addressing the water chemistry issues that are causing them.

And I like to reassure all of our homeowners that it doesn’t matter where the copper came from, if it came from China, or India, or America.

It doesn’t matter how thick the copper is.

Do Not Repipe With PEX Unless You Understand This California

It doesn’t matter how new the copper is or how old the copper is.

The copper’s being attacked by the chemicals and the situation in today’s current water supplies.

So we can stop that attack, and even if we’ve had some aggressive behavior before that has been eating through the pipe wall in certain areas, as long as we stop it before it actually penetrates, we can keep it status quo like that.

But I like to reassure our homeowners that the rest of the copper, around where these pinhole leaks are occurring, is in exceptional shape.

PEX appears to have some health risks due to off gassing.

The phenomenon of pinhole leaks is specific to exacting areas, its focal points, inside the copper plumbing.

So if we can eliminate the things eating through the copper, as well as address the focal points and make them go away, then the rest of the copper is in exceptional shape and there’s absolutely no need to consider repiping in the questionable PEX materials, and certainly no need to ever consider putting epoxy lining inside your pipes.

If you’re concerned about the epidemic pinhole leak problem in South Orange County, and you live in any of these cities: Alisa Viejo, Dana Pointe, El Toro, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Nigel, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, or San Juan Capistrano, you need to take control immediately and address your water chemistry to protect the copper plumbing infrastructure in your home, as well as your family’s health. So please give us a call, and we’ll be happy to help you out.

Three more articles about PEX off-gassing and or leaching into tap water.

https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2014/Q4/drinking-water-odors,-chemicals-above-health-standards-caused-by-green-building-plumbing.html

https://failures.wikispaces.com/PEX+Plumbing+Failures (see “Chemical Leaching)
https://www.pexuniverse.com/types-of-pex-tubing (Written from INSIDE the industry. Look under “Pros and Cons”.)
https://www.youtube.com/user/PureElementsNow Pure Elements Water YouTube Channel, which contains tons of good informative videos.

Posted on May 18, 2020 by William Smart in Blog