plastic pipe for drinking water

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Hi all
I'm just posting to ask if it is okay to use plastic pipe for drinking water?

Me and my girlfriend are slowly renovating our first house and one of the first things we did was put a new kitchen in. My dad has had some experience fitting kitchens so between the two of us we did it ourselves. He also brought with him a coil of hep2o plastic pipe which he'd been told was fine for "hot and cold water" which we used to plumb in the sink.
A friend at work has recently mentioned that plastic pipe shouldn't be used for drinking water as the plasticizers leach out into the water.

Is this correct? Does it make any difference if there is an inline filter on a separate drinking water tap?

cheers for any advice
 
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OMG, we're going to have to change all the water mains then :eek: And stop drinking milk, coke, bottled water, aarrrrggghhhhh!!!! we're doomed :(
 
oilman said:
OMG, we're going to have to change all the water mains then :eek: And stop drinking milk, coke, bottled water, aarrrrggghhhhh!!!! we're doomed :(

I know plastic pipe is ok, as I see it used..

But

Its a legitimate question why be sarcastic..

You could have said something along the lines of, 'you must not use plastic that contains xyz' or ' as long as it is coded abc'

you surprised me on this one
 
I have used plastic myself for the past 20 years and its always proved very satisfactory. However the leaching of chemicals from the plastic is not something I am negatively aware of. Now lead is another matter - now was it not responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire? !
 
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Cheers for the sensible reply Diyisfun.

Oilman, you will note that hep2o tubing is made from polybutylene, whereas plastic bottles are usually made of Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) or something similar. These are two very different plastics and it is extremely plausible, if not likely that in order to keep the thick walled (compared to pop bottles) tubing flexible plasticisers are required. As plasticisers are volatile and soluble it seems perfectly reasonable to ask if they are present in Hep2o pipe and if they pose a health risk.
I would have said your comments were equivalent to me asking "should I replace my metal lead piping, I think it may be bad for me?" and you replying "OMG better all stop drinking cans of pop then cos the cans are made of metal too"

but cheers anyway, we can all see how you really know your stuff, if only us mere mortals were worthy of your infinite wisdom.

Again cheers, Diyisfun, and if anyone else has any comments I'd very much like to hear them.

Thanks
Phil
 
Excellent
Thanks John and bogstandard. I had scanned the hep2o web page but obviously failed to spot that bit.
No I don't have a reference it was just a friend from one of the labs at work mentioned it, obviously he was incorrect. Am I right in saying there was another type of plastic that was used in the past that is no longer used now? If so maybe he was referring to that or maybe he was just mistaken.

Thanks for all your replies, you have certainly put my mind at rest, I was starting to worry that I'd been slowly poisoning us.

Cheers
Phil
 
What a sad bunch, only serious postings allowed. Moderators I shall be expecting a new rule soon.

As it happens copper is toxic too, but drinking water comes through it.

How do we manage to stay alive. Do you ALWAYS wash your hands before eating? Do you spray your house with antibacterial spray? Do you have one of those horrid electric perfume dispensers? Nasty stuff comes out of there and you breathe it in, worse, babies have to breathe it in. But that's OK.

As far as cans of pop go, it's what's in the cans, not the cans themselves that's bad for you, as is so much processed food and drink. These products are made for the benefit of the manufacturer, not for the benefit of the consumer.

diyisfun, if I surprised you, why did you bother saying anything? On second thoughts, I don't want an answer. :rolleyes:
 
Hi,

Lets bury the hatchet and come over to my place for a cup of tea. I have to tell you though that we have a private water supply, fed from an underground spring in the sheep fields that collects in an old riveted steel clyinder. It's then fed through about a quarter of a mile of Alkathene pipe to the house where it has a particle filter and a UV bacterial killer.

On occasion the pipe gets blocked by, well, what once were tadpoles. If they can't be shifted we just have to wait for nature to take its course. If water is still available at the greenhouse I connect a hose pipe up and then feed this to the house supply. In time the main pipe will flow again and I flush out most of the mess (don't ask). There is the odd particle or two which the filter catches. I swop the filter when the flow slows too much.

Most people enjoy the tea, until I tell this tale......

Rgds.
 
Well I will post one.
I posted to reply to what I thought was a good sound question, your posting was a waste of key strokes, but maybe like me you have time on your hands & like being helpful
Anyway no bickering.
:LOL:
 
Well cheers guys
oilman, get over yourself. I'm not a plumber, I didn't know the answer before I asked otherwise I wouldn't have asked. You are right, something will get us in the end so I might as well rip out all my plastic piping and put lead ones in instead. Then I'll go cycling in the dark and in the rain, without any lights, and when (if?) I get back I won't even dry my hair. Maybe the pneumonia will get me, maybe it won't but I'm just that kinda rock n roll guy :)

Maybe I'll stick to the electrics forum from now on ;)

Cheers for all the helpful replies though :D
 
Just to add a point.
Caravan shops sell plastic pipe specifically for drinking water, where as garden hose pipe say of a similar size is definitely not suitable, it tastes awful.
JonB
 

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