2w ago

Water line corrosion question

I live in a condo (40ish yo) and recently a neighbor in an adjacent building had a leak and the board suggested that everyone have a plumber come inspect their units. I just inspected and found various levels of corrosion at most joints with the included photo the worst looking of the bunch.

How concerning does this appear?

8 comments

Odd that it's blue, must be something in the solder itself.
I'm pretty sure that means a leak (alternatively I'm trying to imagine how some kind low-grade current leakage would cause this only at a joint, and I can't think of any way).
So, while not critical in the moment, this isn't good. My concern is there are multiple bad solder jobs in one spot - every joint in this picture is leaking. How much did this plumber suck, or is copper the wrong material to use in your area because of minerals in the water (while I much prefer copper, there are some areas where the water is corrosive to it).
Fortunately it's not hard to fix, cut everything back, put in new connectors.
I suspect part of the original issue was so many joints that close together. You get one done, and when soldering the next one the heat weakens an existing joint. I'm sure there are guidelines for joint spacing with copper just for this reason (I'm not a plumber, but have done copper work under a plumber's guidance).
- I'm guessing it's blue because there is a decent amount of sulfur in the water which is forming copper ii sulfate around the leaking joints.
  I think you're spot on about everything else though. Rip this out and replace with new connections.
- Thanks for the input. I will look at getting a professional in the near future. The city's water is pretty good, so I wouldn't expect it to be the issue, though no guarantees. I'd suspect bad solder first or the number of joints based on your response. Over 3/4+ of the joints look similar including color, though not as bad as the one in the photo.
  @Godort@lemmy.ca
  
  the color and corrosion is from the acid paste/flux used when soldering copper. whoever did the plumbing didn't wipe their joints at all after soldering. piss poor plumbing.
  source: plumber.
  edit- the joints look fine, although kinda hard to see. you wanna look for small damp spots/discoloration on materials under the piping and keep in mind some of it could be from condensation if that area is subject to draft. copper piping will last hella long time if installed properly and seeing how yours is supported by iron nails(suboptimal), i don't think this plumber gave a shit
Since it's blue and around the joints, I'm thinking it's the flux used when these pipes were put in. Most likely with a bit of scrubbing with a metal brush and polish with some steel wool it'll come right off. I doubt it's actually going into the surface.
But let a professional look at it to be sure.
Corrosion on copper pipes is a pretty typical thing. It's a little more concerning if it's only around the joints. Without cutting a cross section to see if it is actually pitting however its hard to tell if replacement is totally necessary.

8 comments