Corroded pipes are harmful to your water system, your health and the environment. They can also cost you a lot of money! Corrosive water cannot only cause premature failure in your plumbing system and fixtures it can also affect the efficiency of your hot water heater and cause untimely failure.
If you suspect that corrosion is occurring in your pipes, act right away by calling your plumber. If you have an older home with galvanized or copper pipes and have not seen any signs of corrosion you may still want to consider having them checked by an experience plumber to avoid costly plumbing issues in the future.
Five ways to check your pipes for corrosion:
1. Know What Kind of Pipes You Have If you have a newer home with PVC or polyvinyl chloride pipe, a corrosion test is not necessary since these types of pipes are corrosion proof. If you have an older home with galvanized pipes you will inevitably end up with corrosion. Make sure to check every pipe that you have access to since there may be different types of pipes in your home.
2. Conduct an Inspection of Exterior Pipes If you have pipes that are easily accessible, run your hand along the pipes to check them for pin holes which typically indicates leaking water. Look for indicators of corrosion such as rusty brown or blue stains. You may also notice a white settlement that looks like salt. Pay close attention to where two different metals are connected. The different metals can interact in a negative way creating corrosion.
3. Check your toilet tank for signs of rust or blue stains If you have corrosion on the inside of your pipes, chances are you will find presence of rust. The easiest and best spot to check for rust is in your toilet tank. Rust will be even easier to notice if you have galvanized pipes. Finding blue stains in your toilet indicates a high level of copper in your water supply. You may also notice blue stains in areas around your fixtures.
4. Have Your Water Tested Test your water for copper. High levels of copper can cause corrosion in your pipes.
5. Inspect the Interior of Your Pipes This is a harder task. If you suspect that you have a corrosion problem, have a licensed plumber cut a section of pipe where corrosion has occurred.