4 ms·

The obvious next question being, _are_ PEX pipes safe? Perhaps California is just ahead of the curve banning it.

by resf 9y ago

bluGill 9y ago
As far as we can tell. Pex is just polyethylene or (C2h4)n - there is nothing about that chemical formula to be particularly concerned about. It doesn't leach anything - when pure water is desired it the most common pipe to specify as it is cheap and works well (glass is better but that is mostly because glass does not allow air to through to dissolve in your water - and obviously more expensive) The alternative is copper and cPVC. cPVP is just another plastic. Copper leaches copper into your water (though not harmful for most purposes), and is attacked by common water ph to corrode and ultimately break requiring replacement (though this takes about a lifetime). Copper is more expensive - 10 feet of copper pipe will cost as much as 100 feet of pex, and you have to join the copper every 10 feet: more expensive labor. The claimed worry is impurities from manufacturing exposes workers to them when the pipes are first turned on. Note that there is no particular reason to believe those objections do not apply to approved pipes. My opinion is they don't like the idea of pex because it is less labor which means less money for them. I personally use pex for all my plumbing in my house. It is cheap, quick and easy.
- mark-r 9y ago
  I've noticed that Pex has taken over new construction in my area. I built my house 17 years ago and copper water pipes were still standard. I just assumed cost was the big driver since copper has gone up about 200% in that time. You say that copper will eventually corrode, but how does that compare to the lifetime of Pex?
  - bluGill 9y ago
    Good question... Regular polyethylene is rated for 50 years in ground (I was researching geothermo at one point), and experts say that is mostly because nobody wants to bother with caring about things that will happen after they are dead. Generally it is believed we should get 200 years out of it, perhaps more. PEX has essentially zero resistance to UV, in sun exposure salutations you get a few weeks of lifetime. Most buildings don't expose plumbing to sunlight though. There are a few (very few) chemicals that attack PEXs, but all the ones I know of are nasty enough that I'd wear full protection if I ever have to work with them - not something I expect drinking water will ever contains. Pex is resistant to any PH I'd want to drink.

The obvious next question being, _are_ PEX pipes safe? Perhaps California is just ahead of the curve banning it.

by resf 9y ago

The obvious next question being, _are_ PEX pipes safe? Perhaps California is just ahead of the curve banning it.

As far as we can tell. Pex is just polyethylene or (C2h4)n - there is nothing about that chemical formula to be particularly concerned about. It doesn't leach anything - when pure water is desired it the most common pipe to specify as it is cheap and works well (glass is better but that is mostly because glass does not allow air to through to dissolve in your water - and obviously more expensive) The alternative is copper and cPVC. cPVP is just another plastic. Copper leaches copper into your water (though not harmful for most purposes), and is attacked by common water ph to corrode and ultimately break requiring replacement (though this takes about a lifetime). Copper is more expensive - 10 feet of copper pipe will cost as much as 100 feet of pex, and you have to join the copper every 10 feet: more expensive labor. The claimed worry is impurities from manufacturing exposes workers to them when the pipes are first turned on. Note that there is no particular reason to believe those objections do not apply to approved pipes. My opinion is they don't like the idea of pex because it is less labor which means less money for them. I personally use pex for all my plumbing in my house. It is cheap, quick and easy.

mark-r 9y ago
I've noticed that Pex has taken over new construction in my area. I built my house 17 years ago and copper water pipes were still standard. I just assumed cost was the big driver since copper has gone up about 200% in that time. You say that copper will eventually corrode, but how does that compare to the lifetime of Pex?
- bluGill 9y ago
  Good question... Regular polyethylene is rated for 50 years in ground (I was researching geothermo at one point), and experts say that is mostly because nobody wants to bother with caring about things that will happen after they are dead. Generally it is believed we should get 200 years out of it, perhaps more. PEX has essentially zero resistance to UV, in sun exposure salutations you get a few weeks of lifetime. Most buildings don't expose plumbing to sunlight though. There are a few (very few) chemicals that attack PEXs, but all the ones I know of are nasty enough that I'd wear full protection if I ever have to work with them - not something I expect drinking water will ever contains. Pex is resistant to any PH I'd want to drink.