Point out lead pipes and my first thought is of the Cluedo homicide weapon – one thing from a bygone period when company wandered via grand nation homes with billiard rooms and libraries, plotting the demise of poor Dr Black. In different phrases, lead piping appears like a relic of centuries previous – hardly one thing you’d look forward to finding lurking in trendy houses.
And but, you should still encounter them. “Earlier than 1970, lead pipework was generally used to attach properties to the mains water community,” a spokesperson from the Authorities’s Consuming Water Inspectorate informed us. “Using lead pipes has since been banned, nonetheless many older properties that haven’t been modernised are more likely to have lead pipework underground and/or contained in the constructing.”
Should you do have lead piping, tiny quantities of lead may very well be infiltrating your consuming water provide and inflicting long-term well being injury. That is why it is at all times a good suggestion to verify you probably have any lead piping, notably in the event you stay in an older property. We have requested the specialists to elucidate easy methods to recognise lead pipes and the method of changing them.
Jess Thomas is the managing director of Drainage Central and an skilled within the drainage and plumbing trade. Jess regularly offers invaluable insights on a variety of trade subjects, and is devoted to serving to owners discover efficient options to their drainage issues.
The historical past of lead pipes
“Lead pipework was generally used earlier than the Nineteen Seventies for incoming water provides from the pavement into properties,” explains Scott Hunter, co-owner of Hunter Heating Options and Checkatrade Plumber of the Yr 2024. “Normally, a single steady lead pipe would run from the exterior stopcock within the pavement to the interior stopcock inside the home. This technique was fashionable on the time as a result of it required no joints, saved set up time, and the pipe’s flexibility made it straightforward to bend round corners.”
“Lead was used historically as a fabric becuase it’s powerful however malleable and simple to bend and trend into water pipes,” provides Jess Thomas, managing director at Drainage Central. “Lead can be lengthy lasting and resists the corrosion attributable to water, and because it has a low melting level, it may even be fabricated on website if wanted.”
The best way to determine lead pipes in your house
“Most 1920-1970 homes will initially have an incoming chilly mains lead provide,” says Scott Hunter. ” place to start out is to find the stopcock inside your property. In lots of circumstances, a lead mains pipe would run proper up the stopcock. They’re often a darkish gray pipe, round 18-25mm in diameter.” You will usually discover your stockcock (often known as a cease faucet) underneath your kitchen sink, or in a downstairs lavatory.
“You may additionally discover a particular, swollen, egg-shaped joint the place the lead pipe transitions to copper or brass simply earlier than the stopcock,” Scott factors out. “Should you gently scratch the floor of the lead pipe with a coin, a shiny steel ought to seem beneath it. Then again, if the pipe is roofed in blue plastic, it’s probably {that a} newer MDPE pipe has already been put in.”
“There are a number of methods you possibly can verify in case your pipes are constructed from lead,” agrees Jess, who explains what to search for:
- Color: “Unpainted lead pipes will likely be boring gray in color.”
- Joints: “The joints of lead pipes are rounded and swollen the place the pipes meet.”
- Scratch take a look at: “When a lead pipe is scratched, the steel beneath will likely be shiny and silver.”
- Sound: -“When tapped, lead makes a boring thud, in comparison with copper or iron that can make a transparent ringing sound.”
- Constructing date: “Houses that have been constructed earlier than 1970 usually tend to have lead pipes than these constructed afterwards.”
How does the lead in pipes contaminate the water?
The most typical approach for result in contaminate your water provide is that lead from the pipework dissolves into the water while it stands within the pipe.
“A much less widespread reason behind lead in consuming water is the unlawful use of lead-based solder to affix sections of copper pipe,” says the Consuming Water Inspectorate. “Lead solder remains to be permitted to be used in closed central heating techniques and errors often occur whereby unqualified plumbers or house owners use lead solder on consuming water pipes. Older brass fittings may also be a supply of lead.”
This contamination may be exacerbated by just a few issues, such because the situation of the lead pipework, and hotter temperatures – a rise in warmth in the summertime months could cause extra result in dissolve. Additionally, disturbing or engaged on lead pipes also can trigger the focus of lead in consuming water to briefly enhance.
Conversely, in the event you stay in a tough water space, the limescale within the water can truly kind a coating on the pipes, stopping the lead from dissolving into the water provide.
Well being dangers related to lead publicity
In accordance with the DWI, taking in these tiny lead deposits could cause psychological impairments in unborn infants, infants and kids, and impair kidney, coronary heart and circulatory well being in adults.
The NHS states on its NHS Inform web site that: “publicity to guide may be dangerous particularly to unborn infants and younger kids. Infants and younger kids take up a higher proportion of ingested lead than adults.”
They state that the indicators and signs in younger kids can embrace: “Irritability and fatigue, lack of urge for food and weight reduction, stomach ache, vomiting, constipation, listening to loss, developmental delay and studying difficulties.”
Signs in adults can embrace: “Hypertension, stomach ache, constipation, joint and muscle ache, ache, numbness or tingling of the extremities, complications, fatigue and reminiscence loss.”
However they’re at pains to level out that exhibiting these signs would not essentially imply you may have lead poisoning – and it is best to go to your GP you probably have any issues.
Testing your water for lead
Should you suspect you may have lead pipes, it is best to instantly contact your water provider. They can present a free lead take a look at and advise you on methods to scale back lead in your water provide. Should you’re in Scotland, for instance, you possibly can name the Scottish Water helpline on 0800 0778778 and organise for a water pattern to be taken out of your property freed from cost. Or at Anglian Water you possibly can name the Lead Recommendation Line on 0345 070 3445 to e-book a free lead take a look at or use the net kind.
Anglian Water exams for lead by taking 4 samples:
- A spot pattern out of your kitchen faucet, with out flushing it
- After operating your faucet for 2 minutes, a ‘flushed pattern’ will likely be taken
- After ready an extra half-hour, a ‘stagnation pattern’ is taken
- Lastly, they’ll take a fourth pattern out of your boundary field exterior your property (in case your property has one)
The samples are despatched off to a lab, with the outcomes often anticipated inside 10 working days. The water firm will then advise subsequent steps, together with the substitute of pipework.
“The place a threat of lead exists, water corporations generally deal with the water with orthophosphate to scale back the issue considerably,” says the Consuming Water Inspectorate. “None the much less, particles of lead could construct up in these older pipes and intermittently seem in faucet water.”
The best way to scale back lead publicity
“Within the quick time period, flushing the pipework, earlier than utilizing for consuming or cooking, will assist to scale back lead concentrations within the water,” says the Consuming Water Inspectorate spokesperson we contacted. “It is because lead is picked up within the water because it comes into contact with the lead pipework and it has been standing within the pipework for a size of time, corresponding to in a single day, the lead focus will likely be increased.”
To clear your system, operating round a washing-up bowl’s price of water ought to be sufficient. You may at all times use this water to scrub your automobile, however not for watering vegetation or filling a hen bathtub. Should you’re nonetheless uncertain, preserve your fingers underneath the faucet because it runs and look ahead to the temperature to alter barely – this indicators that contemporary and never standing water is coming from the mains.
“However the one positive solution to take away lead out of your water provide is to take away the lead pipework, together with any lead solder, from your own home and substitute this with new plastic or copper pipework,” say the Consuming Water Inspectorate.
What to do you probably have lead pipes
“Should you suspect that you’ve got lead pipes, it is best to contact your native water board as a matter of urgency,” says Jess at Drainage Central. “They’ll probably come out to check the pipes.”
“If it seems that your provide pipe is lead, most water suppliers supply a Lead Substitute Scheme,” says Scott Hunter. You may often apply for this on-line or by calling your provider instantly. Nevertheless, you’ll usually want to rearrange and pay for a contractor – ideally a WRAS Permitted contractor – to put in new pipework as much as your property boundary. The water provider will then join it to the pipes underneath your nearest pavement.”
Working along with your native water utility firm
“If the pipes are discovered to be lead, they might have a substitute scheme that may substitute the pipes without cost or at a lowered price,” reiterates Jess Thomas. Nevertheless, it will range relying in your provider, and in researching this text, we discovered that only a few ‘full substitute’ schemes can be found (see under)
“The pipework between the water important and the property known as the provision pipe. This provide pipe is made up of the communication pipe and the service pipe,” explains the Consuming water inspectorate. “The communication pipe connects into the water important and usually runs to the property boundary. It’s the accountability of the water provider. The service pipe is the accountability of the property proprietor and runs between the communication pipe and into the property, the place it connects to the interior pipework.”
Whereas beforehand, you’ll have been in a position to entry grants to interchange each components of the pipework, these days, most water corporations will solely fund and substitute what’s generally known as the ‘communication pipe’. Nevertheless, it is best to contact your water firm instantly to seek out out what help is offered.
Affinity Water, for instance, which provides water to greater than 3.9 million individuals throughout components of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, London and Kent, is at present enterprise a £25 million programme changing the lead pipes in streets. Nevertheless, like most water suppliers, it deems that the part of pipe out of your boundary to your home and all inside pipes are your accountability to interchange.
“Should you stay inside our provide space, Affinity Water advises that any substitute of a lead provide pipe ought to be carried out by an accepted plumber and should adjust to the Water Provide (Water Fittings) Rules 1999,” Eddie Lintott, Head of Water High quality & Scientific Providers at Affinity Water informed us.
“That is the authorized responsibility of the proprietor, occupier, installer, or plumber to verify the laws are met and received’t have an effect on the standard of your water. For extra recommendation on this, please go to Water Regs UK,” he explains.
Chosen lead pipe substitute schemes
For a restricted interval Bristol Water is providing to go to your own home and verify whether or not you may have a lead provide pipe, and if it finds it’s made from lead, substitute it for free of charge to you.
Northumbrian Water can be operating a scheme whereby it would substitute lead provide pipes operating into your own home without cost. You can be contacted by e-mail or letter mechanically in case you are eligible.
If your own home is equipped by a lead pipe, Yorkshire Water will substitute the pipework within the public freeway underneath its lead renewal scheme. This covers the lead pipework from the general public water important in your road as much as the boundary of your property, and you will want to use on-line for the work to be achieved.
Severn Trent beforehand provided a full pipe substitute grant scheme, however stopped accepting new purposes in January 2025. Nevertheless, it would substitute your connection pipe underneath its new Lead Substitute Scheme.
Thames Water is not going to substitute what it calls ‘provide pipes’ however it would substitute your connection pipe from your own home’s provide pipe to the mains, supplied you meet its standards To use, it’s essential to fill on this on-line kind.
United Utilities will substitute the ‘provide pipe’ out of your property boundary supplied you meet sure standards.
FAQs
How can I inform if I’ve lead pipes?
“First issues first, have you learnt when your own home was constructed? If it was constructed earlier than 1970, you’ll have lead pipes in your plumbing system,” says Eddie Lintott, Head of Water High quality & Scientific Providers at Affinity Water. “You may verify by wanting on the part of pipe main out of your cease faucet or water meter into your property.”
“Lead pipes are usually darkish gray in color, but when gently scraped, shiny silver-coloured marks seem,” Eddie explains. “They’re typically thicker than different metallic pipe supplies and are additionally simpler to scratch utilizing a coin.”
If in case you have lead pipes, there will likely be a swollen joint subsequent to the cease faucet connection. In case you are unable to see any lead pipework, there should be a hidden or underground part which is lead, or lead solder becoming a member of copper pipework.Should you’re uncertain, ask an accepted plumber to hold out this verify for you.
We advocate utilizing a Watersafe-approved plumber, who will comply with Water Fittings Rules, defending your consuming water from contamination and expensive errors.
Is it protected to drink water from lead pipes?
No. Lead has been confirmed to trigger well being points – and is especially harmful to infants and pregnant girls, inflicting points with developmental and bodily well being.
How can I take a look at my water for lead?
Sometimes, it is best that you just contact your native water provider and they’re going to take a look at your provide for you without cost. You can ask your plumber to run a take a look at, however they have to use an authorized laboratory-provided pattern bottle.
Apart from, in case your plumber confirms there are traces of lead in your provide, it is probably your native water provider will wish to retest anyway. Due to this fact, it makes probably the most sense to contact the provider within the first occasion.
What ought to I do if my water comprises lead?
In case your water comprises lead, it is best to instantly take short-term precautions corresponding to operating the faucet for a couple of minutes earlier than taking consuming water from it.
As quickly as doable, contact your water provider to seek out out what pipes they will substitute and what grants can be found, after which organize for all lead pipes to be eliminated and substituted for protected copper and plastic pipes.
Does my water utility substitute lead pipes?
“The help out there to customers varies in keeping with their water provider and they need to contact them within the first occasion in the event that they wish to discover out,” says the Consuming Water Inspectorate spokesperson we contacted.
In researching this text nonetheless, the ‘norm’, at the very least in England, Scotland and Wales, appears to be that the water firm will often substitute mains and connection pipes, however you’ll have to foot the invoice for the service and inside pipes in your property.
