PEX plumbing has been around for quite a while now. It is a widely used material in residential and commercial plumbing. Builders love using it due to its ease of install compaired to other materials such as copper or cpvc. Builders also love it since its much cheaper. Where as a typical re-pipe of a 1,500sqft home with copper pipes would cost around $10,000, doing the same job with PEX would be half the price. So PEX sounds like the most obvious choice for a home right? Well let me give you a few reasons why it might not be.
- Dezincification
- Difficulty getting insurance
- Water Quality
- Chemical deterioration
Dezincification:
Older PEX plumbing had a known issue called “dezincification”. The older type came with brass fittings that were manufactured with high zinc content which is known as “yellow brass”. Over the years, the chemicals in our water supplys would cause the zinc to leach out of these fittings causing them to become brittle and eventually leak. These fittings have come under heavy fire as of recent years and were subject to a class action lawsuit. You can identify these with the markings “Q-pex” or “F1807”. To see if you qualify for this lawsuit you can visit here.
Difficulty getting insurance:
As a home inspector, I like to inform my clients of defects found in the home as well as known issues to prevent people from getting insured. A family who just purchased a home with PEX installed before 2011 may run into issues finding a company that will insure them. Many companies in the state of Florida are starting to put in their doccuments that homes with the older PEX are not elligible for insurance with them. If companies do insure them they might have higher rates or add in disclaimers that they will not cover damages cause by leaking pipes. I suspect more companies will follow this trend in the coming years.
Water Quality:
Although there are many water quality tests where PEX plumbing has passed, there are also cases where it hasn’t. In these tests it was found that chemical leaching can occur. This is when the materials used to make the pipe can leach out into the drinking water. These chemicals can also alter the smell and taste of the water. Of these chemicals, BPA is one of the more well known chemicals that is known to enter the water supply.
Deterioration:
PEX is basicaly a flexible plastic and will deteriorate just like any other plastic. PEX exposed to UV rays will deteriorate in less than 6 months in some cases. This is why all exterior exposed PEX must be painted so it will not break down. Another chemical that is in most of the public drinking water supplys is Chlorine. As chlorine is run through PEX over time it will cause oxidation and deterioration of the pipe itself. This will eventually lead to failure of the pipe resulting in the entire home needing to be re-plumbed.
If you are buying a home or are a home owner and are curious if you have this type of plumbing you can schedule a home inspection with us here!