The History of Polybutylene
It's thought that oxidants in water provides respond with the pipes and their fittings, which make them scale and flake out, finally becoming brittle. After a certain length of time the pipes are liable to fail with no warning, causing enormous property damage if the issue isn't immediately located and included.
Polybutylene is a polymer that's frequently confused with polybutene, which has another repeat unit. Polybutylene was used widely in home construction and water piping between 1978 and 1995, throughout the USA and Canada. But it was banned from use in 1995 in both states, and here we will go over why it had been used and why it was banned.
It was very cheap to make, cheap to set up, and considered to be quite resistant to conventional wear and tear, unaffected by corrosion, and simple to keep and replace. But, throughout the 1980's reports started to surface of faulty manufacturing and technology, which was causing the pipes to fail across the nation.
This finally caused millions of dollars in property damage as a result of leaks in houses and underground water supplies. While the producers of the pipes have not reluctantly confessed they're unsound, they've settled in Class Action lawsuits to the tune of nearly one billion dollars. Today, polybutylene was banned from use, but there are still estimated to be several million houses that still have this sort of piping.
If you think your home may have polybutylene piping, you can check fairly easily by analyzing the piping around sinks, bathrooms, and other appliances. Compare the pipes you've got to photos of the polybutylene piping on the internet. Should you have polybutylene in your house, you will probably wish to get it replaced or at least scrutinized as soon as possible to be able to stop them from failing. Calling your community plumber can help you determine what steps will be required to repair or replace your polybutylene piping.
Comments
Post a Comment