0

I originally started looking at the my water pipes because drinking my tap water gives a burning / dry sensation in my mouth and stomach.

My copper water pipe looks corroded / affected and has probably leaked some water on the tube from the neighbors.

I was wondering if anyone spotted something weird on the pictures or has heard of this problem before.

I've tried having all the taps open for 1+ hour, which doesn't change anything. I have called a couple of companies, but they told me they can only try to test the water for a lot of money and maybe get a result out of that so they can fix the problem by chemically cleaning the tubes for more money.

Any help is very much appreciated.

https://i.sstatic.net/Fl8PU.jpg

Improve this question
5
  • Does your water come from a private well, or from a municipal water supply system?
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 15:49
  • And until you get test results, you may want to source your drinking water from a known good source, rather than drinking water that may be harmful to you.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 17:13
  • @Ecnerwal I live in an apartment, but my neighbors do not seem to have any issues. Thanks for the advice, I am drinking water from the store since I first noticed the issue.
    – Joas
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 18:55
  • If you ran the water for an hour, and the water still tastes strange, the problem is very unlikely to be the pipes in your house. Any leaching from a copper pipe takes a long time of water/pipe contact to happen. The pipes themselves don't really look concerning. I see what looks like mineral buildup on the pipes, which might be the pipes leaked a little water at some point, the water evaporated and left the minerals, but the pipes themselves don't look of much concern. Geting your water tested is the only way to know what's going on.
    – user30371
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 18:57
  • the water in the pipe does not touch the outside of the pipe ... disconnect one pipe and look inside
    – jsotola
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 22:11

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

Get a water test kit (from a laboratory - "home kit test strips" are next to useless IME) carefully follow the directions for taking a sample, send it to the laboratory, read the results.

There's really no way to infer what your water problems might be over the internet.

Many state (or similar local area) governments have relatively low cost water testing laboratories. They are there for the safety of your drinking water, not to sell you anything. There are also independent laboratories.

Improve this answer
5
  • My county has test kits you pick up fill the 2 sample bottles and they run tests for every thing from fecal chloroform to lead. The test is only 10$ but it takes a couple of days for results if you want faster results I think it cost 50$. I have never heard of copper pipe having issues other than high iron content causing problems with the pipes.
    – Ed Beal
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 15:51
  • Low pH (acidity) can cause copper pipes to corrode (and if they have lead-based solder, that leaches out too.)
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 17:07
  • Lead based and any corrosion in the pipes would be flushed with a long run like the op has mentioned I would think a contaminant or bacteria could be the issue and a test would be appropriate and possibly a heavy bleaching of the well followed by a long flush to get the bleach out
    – Ed Beal
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 18:37
  • Thanks for the answer! unfortunately I couldn't find any government laboratories which sell water test kits in the Netherlands.
    – Joas
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 18:52
  • 2
    @Joas some department at your local municipal government office is in charge of water quality in your town ... call them
    – jsotola
    Commented Oct 6, 2020 at 23:58

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.