How would you know if your house had Lead Pipes?
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Look under the sink and see if it is gray and soft. Odds are against it, some houses still have lead sewer pipes, but those are fine as they don't carry water to you. If you house is less than 50 years old, you should not have any worries anyway. Lead pipes were not used much for water in the last 100 years once pressurized water became available, as the lead cannot hold up to the pressure.
They sell a kit, that gives you everything you need to test for lead. Your Venetian Blinds,radiators,pipes, check it all.
Just look at the pipes is the easiest way - if they are lead they will be metallic and light grey in colour and some of the joints will be quite bulbous and silver. If you very gently scrape a pipe to remove the grey surface it will expose a bright silver pipe under the dirt.
If they are copper coloured then they are most likely copper.
Plastic will be coloured either blue or white (or some other colour depending on where you are in this great wide world)
Brian is correct but be carefull since galvanized pipe will look almost the same.
The lead pipes will be somewhat softer if you scrap the surface, galvainize is really tough.
Galvannized is perfectly safe but thet do end up getting clogged inside.
The possibility of the clean water intake being lead is extremely low, however the possibility of the soil pipes, those going to the sewer, being lead is higher. I recently worked on a house that had a lead pipe going from the sink up through the ceiling, but that is no danger.
Lead paint should not be on a home made after about 1970. Latex paints contain no lead and never have. The pigment in paint changed from lead to Titanium Dioxide for inside paints, latex and oil based enamels prior to 1960 when I was selling paints.
If you live in a house built before 1960 or 1970, you might want to check the wood work, window sills, old doors, door sills, steam radiators and things that a child might get involved with or chew on, like window sills.
The health department and state laws might forbid you to attempt to remove it yourself, but they really don't watch for things. I had a friend who removed old lead paint from a house that was being converted into an office and they just let the chips fall where they went. That single act could have gotten him a massive fine. As for steam radiators, those need to be removed and sand blasted (and though they call it sand blasting, you can't use sand because of Silicosis dangers - the use pecan shells, walnut shells, and hickory nut shells generally. They blast them down to shiney metal and repaint them with acceptable paint. If you think you can remove any wood work that is painted with lead, attempt to pry it off without causing dust or chips. But frankly, I would hire a professional.
Get some fine sandpaper and lightly sand the pipe. If the pipe is reddish/gold metallic color it is copper, no need to worry. Silver metallic color? Check it with a magnet. If the magnet sticks, then it is galvanized steel, if not, it may be led.
Water supply pipes are never and never have been made of lead.
Waste pipes were, and the easiest way to tell is to use a nail and scratch them.
If the metal scratches easily and deeply it is most likely lead, but that will not affect you.
If you do wish to replace it and you are capable don't throw out the lead, recycle it. The cash you get from the scrap dealer will offset most of the cost of the PVC replacement piping
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