How Safe is Tap Water?

The solubility of lead in water is very low, so as long as the water hasn't been stood in the pipe for a long time it's perfectly safe.

 

It generally used to be said that if you had a lead supply pipe then you would run the water for a few minutes in the morning. Or flush the lavatory a couple of times to clear it out. If you do still have a lead supply pipe tell the water company they have to replace it FOC if memory serves.

They don't replace it free of charge. They will guarantee to replace the connection up to three stop tap if the householder replaces the rest. Some companies have programmes to replace all the lead communication pipes but AFAIK to Yorkshire Water.

Luckily mine have been replaced when I had work done

You can see the quality of your water by visiting

https://www.yorkshirewater.com/extra-services/in-your-area.aspx

and enter your postcode.

If you are not happy with your water you can boil it and then running through a Brita water filter.

They don't replace it free of charge. They will guarantee to replace the connection up to three stop tap if the householder replaces the rest. Some companies have programmes to replace all the lead communication pipes but AFAIK to Yorkshire Water.

I suspect you may be right - when I had it done it was for Severn Trent and we were completely renovating the entire house and garden so we junked an awful lot of frozen and split pipe in the process as well.

Oh im not saying its unsafe at all I just thought about it going through a lead pipe

So long as it's not stood for a long time in the lead pipe it should be fine.

If you're concerned though, the water board will test the lead levels I think.

My house still has lead water pipes and the advice from assorted sources (when I sought it) was that old lead pipes have been coated in may years of oxides on the inner surface which form a hard and impervious barrier to prevent the lead metal from coming into contact with the water, and this reduces the amount of lead released into your cold water to almost nothing. Clearly no lead piping has been fitted into houses for many years, meaning that all lead piping still in use is old, therefore this should apply to all still in use.

A small but important distinction applies to hot water though. The oxides coating the pipe surface are hundreds of times more soluble in hot water than in cold, and if these are dissolved in your water they do bring lead content with them. Consequently, it is against all advice to drink water which is coming from the hot tap even if, like mine, it comes straight from the mains through a heat exchanger boiler rather than from a tank. The process of heating it makes it more likely to have absorbed the lead from the pipes so it is unsuitable for using in cooking or drinking if you have lead water pipes.

I was considering completely replacing the lead piping until a whole assortment of technical sources told me not to bother and to wait until there is an issue with the piping and replace it then.

How safe is tap water? Very.

That's not quite true.

It is highly dangerous if inhaled.

That's not quite true.

 

It is highly dangerous if inhaled.

And if you were to drink 50 litres or so of it you may find yourself dying from water poisoning- but then the same is true of any water.

Tap water gives me a stomach ache so I stick with bottled water which I've been drinking for years.

3 weeks ago my water was brown. I checked with the neighbours who also confirmed there water was brown. I called Seven Trent. Severn Trent were so worries they were going to have to do something about it! The kept going on about if there was a problem with the pipe work on my property I would be libel for the costs to get it fixed! When I said the neighbours had the same problem they said this was not my concern! If the neighbours had brown water they would have to report it themselves. I just said chuff them. I was going to the caravan anyway. I just left it. According to the neighbours it was brown for the next day or two. There was a seven Trent work crew working on the street all week.

Tap water gives me a stomach ache so I stick with bottled water which I've been drinking for years.

I'd love to see that tested with a blind trial... I'd be very surprised if it's not all in your head.