What to do If you find lead piping

13 Sep

Do you know what to do if you find lead piping in your plumbing at home? If you don’t then you need to read this short article. It could save you and your family from getting lead poisoning.

If you live in South London and you think you may have lead piping in your home you can call CW Services Plumbing and Heating. We are highly regarded as a top plumber in London.

Advice on what to do if you find lead piping in your home

If your property was built before 1970, and it still has its original plumbing, it is likely that you will have lead pipes. How can you tell for sure? Read on and we will advise you how to tell, and what to do if you find lead piping in your home.

If you are unsure whether or not you have lead piping in your home, here are a few simple checks you can carry out that will confirm.

When lead pipes are unpainted they are a dull looking grey. Another tell-tale sign is that where they join with other pipes, the joints will be noticeably swollen.
Lead is a soft metal. If you scrape the suspected lead piping, if it is lead the metal underneath the scraping will appear to be shiny and silver.
If you tap the suspected lead piping with a metal tool or object, if it is lead the sound it produces will be a dull thud. Copper or iron piping produces more of a clear ringing tone when tapped.

CW Services Plumbing and Heating – your local plumber in London

If you are not confident about carrying out any of these checks yourself, call us as your local plumber in London and we will pop round and carry out the tests for you.

Whether it is you or us that confirms the situation, the next thing to discuss is what to do is you find lead piping for sure.

The problem with lead piping is that is can cause lead poisoning. The older the pipe-work they more its integrity will decay and the greater the chance of lead poisoning. Either your appointed plumber in London, or Thames Water can carry out a test to determine what the level of lead in your water is. To be absolutely safe however, and especially if you have children in the household, you should get the piping changed.

We are here to help

As a top plumber in London, changing lead pipes is something we here at CW Services Plumbing and Heating are experienced at doing. Call us to make an appointment for a test, or to change your pipes, on 020 7733 6812 or 07949 095 184.