Lead pollution has been a major health problem around the world. It can do a lot of damage to the brains of both kids and adults. Lead pipes were used in many older buildings because they were cheaper than copper pipes at the time they were built. After decades of use, these pipes may have broken down, letting chemicals leak into water sources. This article’s goal is to teach readers how to test their pipes for lead.
Why should you check your pipes for lead?
Before we get into how to test for lead, let’s talk about why it’s important to check plumbing lines for lead. When people drink water that contains lead, their bodies receive it more than when they eat or breathe it in. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently found that there is no safe amount of lead exposure for anyone. This is especially true for kids younger than six, whose brains are still developing. Even lower amounts of exposure than were thought to be safe before could cause cognitive impairment and behaviour problems in old age. Finding lead in homes or businesses should be taken very seriously for this reason.
How Can I Tell If My House Has Lead Pipes?
Lead lines, fittings, and fixtures were common in homes built before 1986, so most of them may still have them. The Safe Drinking Water Act, on the other hand, sets strict rules that homes made after 2014 must follow. Despite this, lead-based paint, which usually has a lot of lead in it, is still a problem in some homes. Here are some ways to look for signs of lead pipework:
Verify Your Home’s Age: If your home was built before the 1970s, it may have plumbing parts that are made of lead because lead pipes were common up until that time.
Watch Out For Greenish Stains—Over time, copper pipes corrode and leave green marks around links and joints. Lead pipes, on the other hand, get brownish-green discolouration. These kinds of visual clues mean that the system probably has lead poisoning so you should use a lead tester as soon as possible.
Keep an eye out for paint that is flaking or peeling. Paints used in homes built before 1978 contained lead as a pigment. These coatings were easy to crack, peel, or flake off, letting toxic particles into the air. These particles could get into your water supply through cracks and holes in the pipes inside your home.
Different ways to test for lead contamination
You can easily find do-it-yourself tests online, but they aren’t always accurate enough to meet legal needs. To avoid getting wrong results, it’s important to follow the rules set by trustworthy groups like the EPA, CDC, or WHO. This article will talk about three main ways to check if lead is in your home’s water supply:
When you use a certified lab
Sending samples to certified labs that are approved by the right authorities is the most reliable way. The lab technicians use high-tech tools to properly analyse the chemistry of the water while taking into account things that affect the lead content, like the temperature, pH level, pressure, and so on. After looking at your sample, they give you a detailed report with the lead concentrations they found and any other information you might need to properly understand the results.
Kits for at home
Trustworthy shops that sell environmental goods are the best places to buy lead detection kits. You don’t have to wait as long for lab reports, so they can get them to you faster. The accuracy of these tools isn’t as good as that of labs, but they can still give you good readings. It’s important to remember, though, that self-testing can’t completely replace professional analysis. This is especially true when dealing with complicated situations like homes that have multiple water sources that supply different areas.
Services from a Professional Plumber
A trained plumber who knows how to find hidden lead problems can help you find trouble spots, especially places where lead solder could be used to connect different parts. Professionals also bring specialised tools, like XRF guns, to exactly check the composition of materials. By using their expert knowledge along with high-tech instruments, they can precisely locate areas with high levels of lead while causing as little damage as possible to nearby buildings.
Why is it important to be careful during the process?
It doesn’t matter which way is used; strict safety rules must be followed to avoid further contamination. Here are some important steps that need your full attention:
a) Turn off all water sources before you start the tests
It is very important to turn off all the faucets so that running water doesn’t come in contact with the things being checked. This is because rough flow changes the readings a lot. Also, don’t forget to take off any screens that are close to the area being checked.
b) Take the Right Samples of Water
Use clean products that don’t have any residue or chemicals that could change the results in a bad way. Before filling them halfway, give them a good rinse to make room for sediment layers that are deep below the surface to settle. Slowly pour into each jar, being careful not to disturb the contents by sudden movements.
c) Keep samples safely after collecting them
Keep samples safely in cool, dark places that aren’t in direct sunlight or heat. For best results, put them in the fridge until you can get them to the lab. To avoid cross-contamination, make sure that the caps stay tightly closed while they are being shipped.
d) Take steps to fix the problem.
If your test shows that there are too many lead levels, you need to fix the problem right away. Talk to people who specialise in lead removal programs that can be tailored to your needs. Instead, you could replace broken lines with new ones made of materials that are specifically made for use with potable water.
In conclusion
Lead poisoning is very bad for public health, so everyone needs to work together to get rid of this problem for good. Checking in on a regular basis helps people and communities make quick choices about proactive strategies to lower the risk of exposure. When testing methods, don’t forget to take the right safety precautions to avoid any problems that might come up from doing things wrong.