Having anything in your water is typically not great. Any lead contamination within your pipes or tank water needs to be treated as an emergency, and an expert plumber should be contacted immediately. Has your water been tested to gauge the lead levels and water quality?
Lead is an element whose symbol is Pb (derived from the Latin word Plumbum). Its atomic number is 82 in the periodic table. It is a toxic metal and a dense metal, which is heavier than many usual substances.
Exposure to lead may significantly affect health, especially in children and pregnant women. When exposure becomes high, it may even attack the brain and nervous system, causing coma, seizures, and potentially death. The problem with most contaminants, especially lead, is that you can’t see, taste, or smell lead in your water supply, putting you at higher risk.
Lead is found in our environment, soil, air, water, and homes. It is also found in the tap water we drink from lead pipes, lead solder, brass fixtures or other plumbing materials.
It enters the drinking water once the plumbing substances comprise lead corrosion, specifically in the regions where water’s acidity is high and water’s mineral content is low, eroding the pipes and plumbing system.
Need a Plumbing Service?
Within homes with lead pipes, they connect the water main to the house, which is called the lead service line. Also, these ducts are generally a crucial place of origin for lead inside the water.
In all probability, lead pipes are found in the oldest cities and houses established before 1986. In homes with no lead service line, the issue faced is the aluminium or chrome-plated aluminium valves and plumbing with an alloy of lead.
Australia has strict laws and regulations regarding safe drinking water standards. Our standards suggest no more than .01 mg L-1, which aligns with international standards. Review drinking water guidelines for lead in the context of an overall lead reduction strategy.
Lead in drinking water.
Lead pollutants exposure and lead poisoning in drinking water can be minimised.
The fundamental way of getting lead toxic in drinking water is not the oldest pollutants of the water, such as fuels, used batteries, or even some dangerous debris; the fundamental way is the dispersal procedure utilised to provide water to your house and, most essentially, the plumbing system in your home.
The plumbing in your house is one of the main ways of lead exposure in the water you drink.
Be mindful that pets are also exposed to lead in their drinking water if you have pets.
As stated earlier, lead was used to build the piping and alloy in the oldest houses. In homes built before 1930, the pipes were composed of lead.
In buildings constructed between 1930 and 1980, copper wire was typically used; however, the alloy held upright to the lead levels.
Then, between 1950 and 1960, stimulated water lines were used in the new house establishments.
Presently, that kind of piping has not been widely used, yet it is usually used for the application of healthy water.
Once the pipe erodes, the insides of the pipes get rusty. Additionally, when it happens, the water is changed into discoloured and irregular water that tends to be yellowish, brown, or reddish.
This does not suggest that the latest homes are secure from lead pollutants; the accessible information shows that the buildings built five years ago may also have a higher degree of lead.
Buildings that were established before 1986 may comprise a few lead plumbing.
The steps to avoid lead in drinking water
Implement testing lead in water and avoid the prospect of contact with lead. Here are some tips on reducing lead exposure from the household’s plumbing.
1. Keep water running to rinse the lead out
If the water has not been used for a long time, keep the tap on for 30 seconds to 3 minutes or until it gets cold before drinking or using it for cooking.
By doing this, the lead stuck in the pipes gets rinsed out. This may also reduce the lead content in the water level by up to 90%.
2. Make sure to utilise fresh and cool water in cooking and preparing formula
Never use cold water for cooking or drinking from the tap that pours hot water; lead solutes more rapidly in hot water than in cold water.
Therefore, do not use hot water from the tap to make a formula for the baby. Also, never boil water to remove the lead.
3. Use a filter to stay safe
Not every water filter reduces the lead; therefore, ensure the one you buy has your water filter installed professionally before purchasing. Ensure the filter device is maintained and changed according to the manufacturer’s instructions to secure water quality.
4. Clean the tap inflater regularly
Tiny substances containing lead from alloy or even plumbing and drainage systems may become confined in the tap inflater. Cleaning it now and then will reduce the substances and remove your contact with lead.
5. Opt for purchasing low-lead installations
In 2014, every pipe, installation, and fitting was required to comprise less than 0.25% lead.
To purchase new installations, you must look out for those with the lowest amount of lead.
Collect information from the EPA regarding numerous certifications to check the lead-free items and purchase them for your house.
Need a Plumbing Service?
6. Take tests of your tap water to find the content of lead
While accumulating the samples from the tap water to test them, you must prohibit using the water in your house for at least 6 hours before taking the samples.
The instructions for collecting the samples can vary in your city or the laboratory you select, yet gathering the “pre-flush” sample is not missed.
7. Take care of growing and developing bodies
As much as possible, only strained or bottled fresh water to make a formula for the body and food in the house. Young kids, pregnant ladies, and nursing women must utilise filtrated or bottled fresh water to drink and cook.
Also, parents must consider getting their children checked by a doctor for exposure to lead.
8. Consider replacing the lead service line
There are approximately 3.3 million LSIs or lead service lines in Australia.
Around 50-75% of Australia’s water systems have LSIs, facilitating approximately 18 million people.
Most water systems are taking measures to diminish LSI after adopting the Lead and Copper Rule in 1991.
9. Cut down erosion and test the chemistry of water
An essential aspect of today’s drinking water care is reducing erosion to minimise the lead from the drinking water and resolve other problems.
CCT, or corrosion control treatment, is essential where LSIs occur. Corrosion Control Treatment differs in every water system based on the pipe’s age and service lines, where the drinking water is coming from, the chemistry, and the system’s size.
10. Know more about the levels of lead in your community
Each year, public water systems make a CCR Consumer Confidence Report involving data on lead-controlling solutions. The water systems post lead-controlling solutions online as well.
11. Use the method of distillation
Distillation is a lengthy procedure that requires a lot of energy from a great heat source. Hence, it may not be the ultimate procedure for removing the lead, but it is effective.
12. The method of filtration through carbon
A few carbon block filtrates are created to cut down the lead; nevertheless, their ability to remove lead may weaken quickly. Hence, it hinders their capabilities to remove the lead.
For instance, the carbon filter can only filter around 38,000~ litres containing water, which may not be effective at cutting down the lead except for the foremost 7,500~ litres. Hence, carbon filtrates with lead removal capabilities can not always provide a reliable treatment method.
13. The process of reverse osmosis
Throughout the reverse osmosis treatment of water, the water is given pressure (by the household water compression) with the help of some filtrates.
The layer in the reverse osmosis system filters out the lead and various other pollutants, only letting water filter through. The contaminants are rinsed out, allowing you to drink filtered, clean, healthy water.
A reverse osmosis system is a highly efficient procedure for filtering water with the lowest production cost. It consumes zero electricity and is extremely easy to use, maintain, and clean.
14. Consider changing the piping and drainage system of your house
First, ensure lead-contained piping systems or installations in your home.
If you are assured of having lead-containing systems, then a certified plumber may greatly help in this cause because only they know how to plumb better than anyone else.
Change the plumbing inside the household to contain even slight chances of lead. Rinse cold water taps if you furnish some new piping systems or installations.
Changing the home plumbing components is highly effective when the lead’s source is inside the home’s plumbing systems. If the lead arises from the lead service line inside a public water system, this technique may not benefit greatly.
Need a Plumbing Service?
Keeping Your Family Safe
Contact your water company and local health department if your home has lead pipes. In the end, the only sure method to minimise the danger of lead is to remove all the pipework containing lead from the house. Changing the pipes between the tap and the house is the obligation of the house owner.
When the pipes are renewed, you can contact the plumbing service to restore the tiny parts of lead in the service pipeline between the main line of water in the area and the house’s value.
Also, you can reduce lead in water by using a certified filter to remove lead. Or you can opt to drink bottled water, which is more expensive.
A treatment technique for lead is known as the Lead And Copper Rule, which requires a water system to handle the corroding.
This regulation has a system to accumulate the water samples from the tap systems with plumbing substances comprising lead.
When higher than 10% of the samples of tap water pass the action level of the lead of 15 parts for every one billion, in this case, water systems are needed to perform some other tasks, which include:
- Performing other tasks maximises the erosion maintenance treatment (for the water systems that serve 50,000 individuals who do not have fully maximised erosion control).
- Educating people about the exposure to lead in drinking water and the steps they can take to minimise their exposure to lead.
- Changing the lead service line’s divisions (lines that join frequency mains to the people) according to the control of the water system.
Lead is unusual in that various leads in drinking water become apparent from the plumbing in houses or buildings. The solution mainly diminishes the plumbing and installations that contain it; however, this takes time and money. If you want to purchase a house, you can always have the pipes inspected and water tested to determine the supplies of your new property.
In the meantime, every empirical method to mitigate the complete exposure to lead, including erosion control, must be executed. If you are unsure, always ask your local plumber any questions about shown in tap water.
