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GAZETTE Newspapers
By: Arthur S. Lazerow
Pinhole Leaks
Question: Carla from Silver Spring emailed:
“Help! The water pipes in my home are developing small leaks,
mostly in the horizontal pipes in the basement. Several of my
neighbors tell me they also are having this problem. Our home
was built some time in the 1930’s and has copper pipes. My
husband bumped his head on a pipe last week and water leaked in
five places in one pipe. We are really worried.”
Answer: Carla: Pinhole leaks are a
serious problem throughout Maryland and elsewhere. The
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), your water
company, is very active in analyzing the problem of pinhole
leaks. I attended a seminar a year ago on this subject by two
WSSC engineers presented to the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the
American Society of Home Inspectors. It also became so
pervasive that the Maryland Legislature created a task force to
study the problem and issue its report by the end of 2004. I
am relying on both sources for the information below.
Your house is a prototypical case. Based on 5416 reports of
pinhole leaks through June 2004, WSSC’s data showed that Silver
Spring ranked as the area with the most reports of pinhole leaks
and that homes built from 1930 to 1939 were over five times more
likely to experience leaks then in homes built between 1940 and
1949, which was the second highest number of reported cases in
their data. Horizontal copper pipes were also most likely to
suffer pinhole leaks.
What happened to your husband is not uncommon with pinhole
leaks. Small leaks develop and the calcium impurities in water
solidify as the water evaporates. Take a look at the photo from
a home inspection in an older home in New Market, Maryland.
Little pyramids or bumps of calcium close off the leaks. Your
husband dislodged a number of these deposits and created his own
personal rainforest!
The Maryland Task Force To Study Pinhole Leaks identified four
ways pinhole leaks are impacting homeowners. These are the
damage caused by water to the structure and owners’ possessions,
hidden leaks promoting mold growth, the fact the repair or
replacement a home’s water pipes is expensive, and fourth, that
property insurers often raise insurance premiums due to damage
claims caused by water leaks in the prior year.
There is no consensus on the cause of pinhole leaks. Research
leads to the conclusion that there is a confluence of
contributory factors, beginning with the fact that during the
1930’s and 1940’s, which were war years, copper was in short
supply and type M, thin-walled copper pipe material, was
installed in homes. Then during the 1990’s, EPA regulations
required the reduction of hydrocarbons in publicly treated
water.
Hydrocarbons have been implicated in research as carcinogens.
However, these same hydrocarbons in water coated the interior
surfaces of water pipes, protecting the pipes from damage due to
contact with naturally occurring metals from the sources of our
water, especially aluminum. Research by WSSC consultants at
Virginia Tech found that chlorine in water with traces of
aluminum seemed to accelerate the corrosive properties of
aluminum. To solve this, WSSC is now adding orthophosphate, not
considered to be a carcinogen, to its water to coat the interior
of pipes. WSSC has found a reduction in the number of reported
cases of pinhole leaks after this process began.
The Maryland Task Force made several recommendations for
homeowners, any of which could apply to your situation. You can
repair the known leaks and take a “wait and see” attitude
regarding further repair or replacement. If the orthophosphates
are effective to coat your pipes, the development of pinholes
may cease. Definitely report your leaks to WSSC, which needs a
continuing stream of data for their research.
Alternatively, you could replumb your house with a new material,
such as Type L copper, PVC or PEX. There are contractors who
perform “turn-key” replacements, cutting holes as needed,
installing new water supply pipes, repairing all damage to walls
and repainting. A new process, called epoxy lining, is also
available and the process is remarkable. The interior surfaces
of all water pipes are sandblasted, flushed and then dried. An
epoxy material is then blown under pressure onto all interior
pipe surfaces to create a permanent, solid interior surface that
is impervious to the development of pinholes. No damage occurs
to the home in this process and the cost is about the same as
pipe replacement.
Carla, you should not make any decision on your own about
pinhole leaks. The best advice is to consult with a
knowledgeable plumbing professional, who is up-to-date with the
materials in your home and knows your neighborhood.
Have a question relating to a housing or environmental issue?
To contact Mr. Lazerow, click on “Contact Us” at
Albaninspect.com. Mention “Gazette Newspapers” in your
question. Every question will be answered and some will be
included in this column.
Arthur Lazerow, president of Alban Home Inspection Service,
Inc., is a nationally certified ASHI home inspector, having
performed more than 6000 inspections during the past 12-years,
is a Maryland Association of Realtors accredited public speaker
and has been a Gazette Newspapers special correspondent for the
past two years.
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