Lead water pipe - should I be worried?

[Spoilt Victorian Child]

I've had a plumber round to see if a new downstairs WC is possible, and from peeping under the floorboards to check the void height he noticed that the mains water pipe running the length of the house to the kitchen is lead.

Is this something I should be worried about?
Is it wise to get it replaced? I'm having lots of other alterations done so floorboards will be up anyway, etc...
If the feed in the street up to my house is still lead, would changing it make inside the house make a jot of difference in the long run anyway?

 

[88v8]

Hard water or soft?

Ivor

 

[Spoilt Victorian Child]

Hard.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Much less of a worry in hard water areas, but even in soft water areas, I've read that the water companies put something into the water to try and stop the leaching of lead from pipes, but i can't remember what now.

 

[88v8]

Hard.

So it will have an internal coating of lime, therefore not worth worrying about at all.

Instead, spend your money on a water softener. We had one of these for 28 years, soft water, no scum, bliss.....
http://www.kinetico.co.uk/water-softener/kinetico-water-softeners/kinetico-2020c.aspx

The salt metering is controlled by a water turbine rather than a timer, and it's beautifully engineered.

Almost sorry that we have soft water here so we don't need one.

Ivor

 

[Moo]

Thanks for that, Ivor. We've been going through the usual agonies of the damned trying to decide on the relative merits of different makes - fancied the Kinetico (impressive sales talk) but still a bit nervous until you posted. We will make the phone call today!
xx

 

[Penners]

Hard.

So it will have an internal coating of lime, therefore not worth worrying about at all.

Instead, spend your money on a water softener.

Doesn't soft water have a lower pH than hard water? If that's the case, then presumably soft water will slowly dissolve the limescale in the lead pipe, thus removing the protection that it offers against the lead. After that, wouldn't soft water have a slight tendency to dissolve the lead, too?

I'm no expert, so the above are genuine questions, rather than veiled statements of fact.

I have also heard that water which has been artificially softened should not be used for drinking, due to its sodium content.

Bottom line - if my drinking water came through a lead pipe, I'd want to replace that pipe and not soften the water.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I'm pretty certain the water softener would be placed after the lead pipe and would only affect what comes out of the tap (or goes into an appliance of shower for example). If I'm way off the mark, it is because the soft water in my area has been contaminated by my lead supply pipe and permanently frazzled my brain.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Replacement of lead pipes used to be a free service--I did it for two properties. Always a better option I think. You don't want to be tied to water softening for ever with the way costs are rising these days.

 

[LadyArowana]

We installed a water softener at our house in Bath, as the previous owners had had one and it seemed to be useful ( they wanted us to buy theirs, but it was old and knackered and they wanted lots of money for it :roll: strange people, a long story ). The plumber told us that it shouldn't be used to supply water in the kitchen for drinking. I read around the topic a bit and it seemed that it probably wouldn't do an adult any harm to drink the softened water, as long as they weren't guzzling it by the bucketload, but for babies or children not a great plan. Since the house was going to be rented out we kept the "not in the kitchen" arrangement.

 

[88v8]

Doesn't soft water have a lower pH than hard water? If that's the case, then presumably soft water will slowly dissolve the limescale in the lead pipe, thus removing the protection that it offers against the lead. After that, wouldn't soft water have a slight tendency to dissolve the lead, too?

I have also heard that water which has been artificially softened should not be used for drinking, due to its sodium content.

Yes, it may slowly dissolve the scale elsewhere in the house but it is indeed fitted after the rising main so the lead supply pipe will remain lime-lined.

It was recommended to take a tapping off the main to supply unsoftened water for drinking, so we had two taps in the kitchen, one a normal mixer, and one of these for drinking/cooking water.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chrome-Push-Lever-Drinking-Water-Filter-Taps-Mixer-Sink-Bathroom-Mixer-Modern-/291252894673?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Bathroom_Taps_PP&hash=item43d0067bd1

Mind you, I see there's a more Period version available now
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Drinking-Water-Filter-Tap-Faucet-DB08ORB-/181568107498?pt=UK_HGKitchen_SmallApp_RL&hash=item2a464d73ea

Don't know that it really matters drinking softened water - the amount of salt present in a year's water is probably miniscule compared to one bag of crisps. Here are some figures, I won't call them facts as it's a Kinetico webpage, although it may be perfectly true
https://www.harveywatersofteners.co.uk/softened-water-faqs/drinking/yes-but-how-much-salt-is-that

Ivor

 

[a twig]

A lot of water companies will replace lead pipes for free - our neighbours have just had a baby, and were worried about theirs. Wessex water came and changed it all over in ~ 3 days, cost them nowt...

 

[plasticpigeon]

I would like this but my stop cock feeds 6 houses, and so Severn Trent wouldn't do it.

 

[a twig]

http://www.stwater.co.uk/lead

Basically they will come out and test your water, if it's above the lead limit they have to replace it as they are supplying "unsafe" water. Worth a try. At least if it tests out ok you know you have nothing to worry about.

 

[drpepe]

http://www.stwater.co.uk/lead

Basically they will come out and test your water, if it's above the lead limit they have to replace it as they are supplying "unsafe" water. Worth a try. At least if it tests out ok you know you have nothing to worry about.

Yes we did this. The lead concentration was waaay below the safety threshold.

 

[Spoilt Victorian Child]

Thanks all, I will get in touch with our water supplier first and get it tested.

Funnily enough I had been contemplating a water softener, but got so many mixed opinions I was about to abandon that idea, esp coz I wasn't really sure if it'd even work or was just a load of hocus-pocus.
Is softened water for drinking really that bad? I really couldn't be doing with two cold taps, and I want to be able to drink the cold water from the bathroom. Surely half the country are on soft water? Is it just that extra salt content that's the issue?

 

[88v8]

Yes, just the salt. Doubt that it's really a big deal for most people.

When you've had a softener and you run out of salt and the water gradually reverts to hard, you realise just what a pleasure softened water is.
I was so pleased with the Kinetico we had that when we moved here I bought another - used - on eBay, and was almost disappointed to realise that the water here is not hard enough to justify installing it.
So I put it in the attic, just in case.

Ivor

 

[LadyArowana]

Thanks all, I will get in touch with our water supplier first and get it tested.

Funnily enough I had been contemplating a water softener, but got so many mixed opinions I was about to abandon that idea, esp coz I wasn't really sure if it'd even work or was just a load of hocus-pocus.
Is softened water for drinking really that bad? I really couldn't be doing with two cold taps, and I want to be able to drink the cold water from the bathroom. Surely half the country are on soft water? Is it just that extra salt content that's the issue?

I suppose if you wanted to have the water softener supply all the taps, but were concerned about the extra salt then you could fit some sort of filter to the ones you were going to use for possible drinking.

 

[CliffordPope]

I'd get more worried about the Aluminium Sulphate they add to make the water look clear.

 

[Penners]

Is softened water for drinking really that bad? I really couldn't be doing with two cold taps, and I want to be able to drink the cold water from the bathroom. Surely half the country are on soft water? Is it just that extra salt content that's the issue?

Firstly, there is a difference between naturally soft water and artificially softened water. The former is soft because it naturally has a low level of dissolved calcium and magnesium. The latter is soft because it is subjected to a chemical process that exchanges its calcium and magnesium ions for sodium and potassium ions. It's the sodium content that is regarded as inadvisable for drinking water.

Secondly, depending on the plumbing system in your house, it's probably not a good idea to drink water from the bathroom, regardless of whether it's been softened or not. In the majority of homes this cold water comes from your storage tank in the loft, which can become contaminated by insects, rodents, birds and other undesirable pollutants. The water in your kitchen tap should come directly from the rising main, so is clean and fresh.