Are tap water pipes clean?

Are tap water pipes clean?

Water pipes are a very important part of concealed projects. If water pipes leak or burst, they will often bring irreparable consequences. Therefore, understanding the pipe materials and characteristics of water pipes in advance can effectively avoid unnecessary troubles.

Commonly used water pipes for decoration are usually divided into four categories: galvanized pipes, aluminum-plastic pipes, PPR pipes, and copper/metal pipes.

Galvanized pipes

For galvanized pipes that have not been used for a long time, it will be found that "yellow" water flows out, especially in galvanized iron pipes in old houses, which is very easy to occur and harmful to human health.

Now many countries have clearly banned galvanized pipes, but some old communities, especially those that have not been renovated for more than 30 years, still use galvanized pipes as water pipes.

After the galvanized pipe has been used for a period of time, there is a lot of rust in the pipe. The yellow water that flows out not only pollutes the sanitary ware, but also is mixed with bacteria that grow on the rough inner wall. The rust causes the heavy metal content in the water to be too high, which seriously endangers human health.

Aluminum-plastic pipe
Aluminum-plastic pipe was once a popular pipe material on the market. Due to its light weight, durability, convenient construction, and bendability, it gradually replaced galvanized pipes in the 1960s and 1970s. Many urban communities use aluminum-plastic pipes.

However, due to long-term thermal expansion and contraction, the wall of the aluminum-plastic pipe will be misaligned, causing leakage. In large cities with relatively new decoration concepts, aluminum-plastic pipes have gradually lost their market. I believe that in the near future, aluminum-plastic pipes will also face elimination.

As a water supply pipe, aluminum-plastic pipes have sufficient strength, but when the lateral force is too large, it will affect the strength of the pipe, so it is suitable for open pipes or buried in the wall, not deep underground.

At the same time, because the aluminum-plastic pipe adopts a ferrule connection, it is necessary to conduct a pressure test to ensure that the connection is firm and retain enough installation volume to prevent pulling off.

Copper pipe/stainless steel pipe
High-end metal pipes such as copper pipes/stainless steel pipes are the best products in water pipes. They are recognized as one of the best, new, energy-saving and environmentally friendly pipes, and have become the current trend and development direction.

Welding is often used for installation, so it has high strength and stable performance. It is often used in tap water pipes, heating and cooling pipes.

Because of its high cost and complex construction process, it is generally used more in high-end apartments or villas.

PPR pipe

As a new type of water pipe material, PPR pipe has unique advantages. It can be used as both cold pipes and hot water pipes. Because of its non-toxic, light weight, pressure resistance and corrosion resistance, it is the preferred water pipe material for decoration now.

PPR pipe is not only suitable for cold water pipes, but also for hot water pipes, and even pure drinking water pipes.

The interface of PPR pipe adopts hot melt technology, and the pipes are completely fused together. Therefore, once the installation pressure test is passed, there will be no aging and leakage for a long time like aluminum-plastic pipes, and PPR pipes will not scale.

PPR water pipes are moderately priced and have stable performance. Under ideal conditions, the service life is up to 50 years, but its high temperature resistance is slightly worse, and the long-term working temperature needs to be lower than 70℃.

Everyone can choose the water pipes in their own house, but we cannot easily change the type of water pipes in the public water network and when they were installed. The water from the water plant is drinkable. After passing through the water supply network pipes modified at different times, do you dare to drink the tap water directly?

It is recommended that you install a water purifier in the kitchen to purify the tap water for the last time before the water enters our mouth, so that we can drink it with confidence.