Lead Water Pipes - How To Determine?

[lxskllr]

The water company has been pestering me about what my pipes are made out of. They /probably/ aren't lead, but how can I tell? I don't know what was customary for using lead pipe. If it's original steel coming through the wall, is it safe to assume it's steel to the mains?

I'm tempted to just say they aren't lead, but that seems like something I should do right. Not that it matters to me at this point. Any damage isn't likely to get worse than what I've got. One of the benefits of being old :^D

moved from OT
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[IronWing]

Lead naturally amalgamates with mercury. Turn off your water and pour mercury through your water line. If the mercury comes out the other end then you don’t have lead pipes.

 

[lxskllr]

That's why I come here. Someone always has a brilliant solution to life's problems!

 

[lxskllr]

I read the mail again, and this is what it says...

Please assess your service line material where it enters your home – typically in your basement, crawl space or garage

I can do that. I don't think they were as specific previously, cause what I thought was "How the fuck do I know?! I wasn't here when it was installed..."

 

[quikah]

I read the mail again, and this is what it says...

Please assess your service line material where it enters your home – typically in your basement, crawl space or garage

I can do that. I don't think they were as specific previously, cause what I thought was "How the fuck do I know?! I wasn't here when it was installed..."

Try scratching the pipe with a small screwdriver. If the scratch is a shiny silver color it is probably lead.

 

[Fenixgoon]

You can also have water samples tested for lead content.

 

[Steltek]

You can also have water samples tested for lead content.

This.

You can pick up a cheap home test kit at Home Depot or on Amazon. Get one with multiple test strips, so you can test in multiple fixtures. If you have lead pipes, it should be immediately obvious on the test results (which you can then follow up with a test by a certified laboratory).

You'll want to watch for the required stagnation period for the test, as water that is being used won't test properly.

BTW, a significant number of water filters actually filter lead and/or other heavy metals, so make sure to run the test on unfiltered water.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Lead iitself, is pretty pliable and soft material, i think if your pipes are made of lead, then it is a lead alloy for stiffer pipes.

 

[lxskllr]

I can ID lead if I can see it. My question was more for what's between the house and the curb. The way it was previously worded, I don't think they specified only where it comes through the wall, and I don't know how you'd verify without test pitting. In my mind, I could see lead being used as the primary run, then steel through the house wall for whatever reason. I'm not a plumber, and even the new stuff I do, my job's done once I tell people where the water goes. I don't pay close attention to what's actually being installed.

 

[Greenman]

Around 50 years in residential remodeling and I've seen exactly one lead pipe, It was a waste line. What's common is copper pipes that are assembled with solder that contains lead.
You should have it tested.

 

[Paperdoc]

Yeah, testing the water for Lead content is the only way, because the buried supply line from mains to your house may be Lead, even if NONE of the piping you can see inside the house is. That's what I have. As pointed out above, the test needs to be done after NO water flow for a while (so Lead from the pipe can build up in stagnant water inside). Best option is first thing in the morning after everyone was inactive. To be sure, tell all in the house NOT to flush or use any water overnight. Then sample at the tap closest to your water inlet line / meter after a very short tap opening to get overnight supply line water to the tap.

I gather Lead was a common supply line material about a century ago. Our house was built about 1910. From what I see, houses from the late 1940's and somewhat earlier used galvanized Iron, later Copper. Copper lines within the house assembled with soldered joints may have lead in the solder - they only started NOT using lead-based solders a few decades ago. But the lead contribution from that source to the water is VERY small.