Do you live in a home built before 1950? These older homes were built with lead or iron pipes and also had copper and cadmium in their fixtures. It has taken many years for our legislators to pass the laws that removed these metals from our plumbing because of their harmful health effects. Gradually, our household water has gotten healthier as a result.
Even homes built in the 1970s and 1980s may have some lead or copper in the plumbing. That’s because the Environmental Protection Agency modified the rules for plumbing components multiple times in the 1980s and again in 1991 to further reduce Americans’ exposure to these metals. If plumbing components have not yet been replaced in these older homes, residents may still be ingesting these four metals in their drinking water.
The Health Problems Caused by Lead, Iron, Copper or Cadmium in Plumbing
It may seem odd, but water is called a “universal solvent” because eventually, it dissolves anything. Decades of water running through pipes or fixtures with lead, iron, copper or cadmium results in traces of these minerals being released into the water. As the occupants of homes with these pipes drink the water, they can accumulate these four metals in their bodies. That can finally result in serious health problems.
The harm can be more severe for children. That’s because they drink more water for their body weight than adults. Also, they are growing and developing quickly, processes which these metals can interfere with. Here’s why these metals need to be eliminated from both public and private plumbing systems:
- Lead: High levels of lead in the blood have been associated with damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system and red blood cells. A child’s lead exposure can lead to brain and nervous system damage, slowed development, learning problems, and hearing and speech problems.
- Iron: Exposure to too much iron can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain. Longer-term, problems can include heart, liver and central nervous system damage.
- Copper: Too much copper can cause intestinal and stomach distress and be dangerous for a person with Wilson’s disease (an inability to eliminate excess copper). In rare cases, Wilson’s disease can be fatal.
- Cadmium: A decrease in bone density and problems with bone composition can result after long exposure to cadmium in drinking water. Children’s rapidly growing bones are most at risk.
How to Solve the Problem of Exposure to Toxic Metals
The best and most permanent way to eliminate these metals is to replace the pipes with non-metal, non-toxic materials. Understandably, this is an expensive solution but it is permanent.
If this can’t be done right away, there are other solutions that can improve matters.
- When the water has been sitting in the pipes for a while, let cold water run for at least one minute before consuming it or using it for cooking. This allows metals sitting in the stagnant water to be flushed out.
- Make sure your water is not acidic because that will leach metals out of pipes faster than normal. A pH water filter can adjust the balance of the water coming into your home.
- Test your household water to determine the content of these metals. Whether you get water from a well or municipal service, it may be low in metals but, of course, these metals could be added by your plumbing. If you determine that your water contains too much of these metals, you can design a filtering system to remove them. There are numerous carbon filters that remove these substances.
Finding the Right Testing Service for Your Household Water
At ETR Laboratories, we have helped tens of thousands of homeowners, municipal water services, real estate agents and many others find out exactly what is in their water. Our best-selling water tests look for all these metals and many more. Check out the water tests on our website and in just a few days, you can know exactly what kind of situation you’ve got and start planning your solution.