Why Lead-Free Plumbing So Important

Lead, symbol Pb, is a soft, toxic, ductile, and malleable metal. Due to its characteristics, lead was used in many different applications, including: paint, gasoline, pipes, glass, and more . However, due to more recent scientific and health research on the effects of lead on the human body, the uses of lead have decreased dramatically.

In the environment, lead is rarely ever found in source waters, including lakes, ponds, rivers, etc. Usually lead enters the environment through pollution. Lead mining is a major source of lead contamination in the environment. When lead is released into soil, it does not migrate to ground water. Naturally, lead binds to soil, and in water, lead has been known to accumulate in mussels and other shellfish.

When there is lead in the environment, it is extremely harmful. Lead can kill birds or other animals that have drank water polluted with lead. Lead is also extremely hard to clean up in polluted soil and water. A large fraction of lead in the environment does not dissolve therefore, it is found in large densities in specific areas. In the environment, "no level of lead is considered to be actually safe (CDC)."

Surprisingly, more lead in found in common tap or drinking water. Lead is often used in household pipes, fittings, valves and water lines. When water sits in pipes, it can corrode the pipes faster, causing more lead to enter the water faster. The common belief that lead in water comes from treatment plants is absolutely false. Lead-contaminated water is usually found in older homes, especially those built in the early 1900s . As of 1986, a "nationwide ban restricted the use of lead pipes for drinking water supplies". Usually all plumbing fittings, valves and pipes made with brass content up to 2.5% of lead. But even in lead-free plumbing, there can be up to 0.25% percent lead used. It should also be noted that, contrary to popular belief, boiling water does not remove lead either.

Due to lead-contaminated water being consumed by humans, the effects of lead on the body are extremely negative, especially in children. Lead is extremely toxic when ingested and the effects of lead poisoning are not present until lead has collected in the body over time. Lead can harm the nervous system, cause weakness, gastrointestinal problems, and joint paralysis. Children are the most at risk when it comes to lead poisoning. Lead can cause seizures and death, especially in children under six since their bodies are growing and changing rapidly at this time. Even when children consume small amounts of lead, they can develop learning disabilities

Sources:
.

"Lead Free Legislation Across the Country" http://www.weareleadfree.net/about_lead_free/lead_laws/usa/

"Lead in Water." CDC. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/faq/leadinwater.htm

"Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil." EPA. http://www.epa.gov/lead/

How to Repair Frozen Plumbing Pipes

On a cold, winter day, have you ever turned a faucet on in your house and nothing came out? I have on more than one occasion. If you have too, then you know the sinking feeling you get in the pit of your stomach. Instantly, you know that, somewhere in that long maze of water pipes that runs through your house, one of them has frozen up.

Frozen water pipes are bad news. Not only are they an inconvenience, but, if they are let go, the pipes can burst. Burst pipes can mean water damage, a flooded basement, perhaps, and expensive repairs to your home.

It doesn't matter if the water pipes in your home are PEX or copper- both materials freeze equally. Both types of material need to be thawed out just as soon as possible.

First, you should check the other faucets in your house. Find out if the problem involves just one faucet, or if it's a widespread problem. If only one faucet is out of order, that pinpoints the problem to being between the faucet and the line that leads to it.

Next, the most obvious place where a pipe freezes is where it's not insulated. Also, pipes that are located along an outside wall, such as in a basement or crawl space, are more likely to freeze in the winter weather. Sometimes, pipes that are located underneath a kitchen or bathroom cabinet can freeze too. The closed up cabinets keep the warm air in the room from reaching the pipes.

Sometimes, you can actually feel the pipe to help determine exactly where the frozen water is located. Obviously, the icy area will feel much colder than the rest of the pipe.

Open the faucet that corresponds with the line that's frozen. That is, if the hot water line is frozen, then open that side of the faucet. Same with the cold water side. If your cold water doesn't run, then turn that faucet on. By doing this, you can tell when you have the problem fixed. That, and turning the faucet on can actually help to alleviate pressure in the line.

Use a hair dryer- preferably an old one- and turn the heat and fan to "high". Move the hair dryer along the pipe that you think is frozen. You'll need patience to do this, especially if the pipe is frozen solid. Work from the faucet down the length of the supply line.

If the frozen water pipe is located in a kitchen or bathroom cabinet, sometimes a heater positioned in front of the open cabinet can help thaw the pipe faster.

When the pipe begins to thaw out and the water begins to run again, leave the faucet open for several minutes. This will help to clear the ice out of the line. Then, turn the water off and inspect the affected line for possible leaks. If you happen to find a leak, you'll need to shut the water off at the main valve and patch or replace the pipe.

Now that you have your frozen water pipe thawed out again, you should take steps so that this problem doesn't occur again. Here are some steps you can take to effectively eliminate the problem:

1. Insulate the Water Pipes

You can purchase insulation that is specially made for water pipes. This type of insulation is inexpensive, and it's readily available at your local hardware or at your local home supply center. This product comes in lengths. The lengths are round, and they have a slit along one side so they may be cut to size, then slid over the pipe.

2. Install Heat Tape on Exposed Pipes

This is also readily available at your local hardware or at your local home supply center. However, it is considerably more expensive than insulation. It also takes time to install and use.

For safety's sake, only buy a product that is "UL Listed." That means that it has been approved for use by the Underwriters Laboratories.

Be sure to follow the manufacturer's directions in order to achieve the best results. Basically, though, you'll need to wrap the heat tape around the water pipes you want to protect from freezing. You'll then need to plug the cord into a household outlet. The heat wrap will keep the pipes warm so they cannot freeze.

3. Let the Water Slowly Drip

This is the best prevention to avoid having a frozen water pipe in your house when the mercury drops down low. You shouldn't need to let all of your faucets drip, only the ones that are prone to freezing.

Source: Associate Content.

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PEX is not Dead! :)

On the eve accidentally stumbled on the Google trends page and found interesting information which would be of interest to anyone who related PEX manufactures and PEX online stores. The demand and interest of users of Google on request PEX pipe exceeded the previous high (September 2008) and continues to grow. Isn't that encouraging? See the graph for clarity

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Benefits of PEX Tubing

of the benefits offered by PEX pipes are as follows:

·         The PEX tubes possess excellent resistance to extreme temperature conditions. No kind of breakage or leakage occurs to them even when exposed to extreme temperature conditions.

·         They hold great contraction and expansion ability.  In addition to this, they also hold superior flexibility which allows them to withstand different temperate levels with ease. So, even when they are used under extreme temperature situations they do not tend to cause any sort of breakage.

·         Another benefit of these pipes is that they hold great resistance to corrosion. The percentage of corrosion to it is very high. Also, these pipes are not crafted with metal and so there are no chances of them being getting reacted with water or any other liquid substance.

·         Cost effectiveness of PEX tubing is it’s another benefit. Not only the price of these tubes is cheaper but even their installation cost is also very less. This is because there are only fewer fittings and less amount of energy is required to bring it into accurate position.

·         The pipe made with PEX also possesses excellent capability to be used along with other kinds of pipes. They can be comfortably employed with PVC pipes and metal tubes. This provides them multiple varieties of uses. They can be employed for expansion and extension of various pipes.

·         Another advantage of these units is that they hold less number of fittings, so, this makes their installation work highly simple. This also adds more reliability to them as less number of fittings means less chances of breakage or leakage.

All these are advantages offered by PEX tubing. Due to these benefits these tubes are considered ideal for all sorts of plumbing applications. Look at our client testimonials.

PEX Mall – Offering High Reliability and Affordability to Residential Plumbing Applications

PEX is an abbreviated name for cross linked polyethylene which is an excellent quality material used for making pipes and tubes. So, the pipe made with use of this material is termed as PEX pipe. Such pipes possess excellent features that make it the most trusted form of tubes to be installed in varied forms of water supply systems. With help of these qualitative pipes, it becomes very simple for homeowners to meet the requirements of various plumbing applications in their homes to fullest.

The one great feature of these pipes is that they are greatly robust. The pipes hold excellent strength and durability that make them ideal to work effectively under all types of conditions. This even enables users to own long service life with ease. Another great feature of these pipes is that it is very easy to install. There are very less numbers of connections and fixtures required to be installed with these pipes that provide easy installation of these systems. The PEX pipe also involve low price of maintenance that makes it very cost-effective piping systems to be employed by homeowners.

In addition to this, these tubes hold great resistance to corrosion and chlorination. The smooth interior of these tubes is free from occurrence of any chemical reaction and so the water supplied through this pipe is completely clean. This water is so safe that it can be brought to drinking as well. Moreover, the pipe ensures energy efficiency along with high level of reliability. They can even comfortably withstand high temperature levels and work under all types of conditions with ease. These pipes are also flexible and fit for all types of applications.

The pipe even holds excellent compatibility and offer high safety norms to users. Presence of all these features in PEX pipe makes them the most reliable and finest tubes to be employed in distinct plumbing applications. 

http://www.pexmall.com/ - official website of Pex tubing store. 
http://www.watts.com/pex --- - Watts Potable PEX Plumbing Products 
www.pexinfo.com/