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Don't Repipe! Line your pipes with epoxy in less time, with less cost, and with less mess!
Problem
| Q: Why do metal plumbing systems fail? | |
| Property owners throughout the country are experiencing an epidemic of water leaks from their metal plumbing systems. Plumbing systems of various ages, installation methods, and locations (under-slab or overhead) are all failing concurrently despite these variables. Even modern plumbing systems within newly constructed buildings can fail within the first five years of service. |
![]() A typical pinhole leak in a section of copper tubing. |
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Plumbing contractors have proposed several singular "reasons” for metal plumbing failure such as water temperature, flow rates, “cheap” copper, and electrolysis, but each of these is only a minor contributing factor to long-term corrosion. The alteration of only one variable since the 1990’s has been the single largest contributor to the sudden outbreak of pipe failure in the last decade. |
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| A: Water chemistry. | |
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In response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) of 1991, utilities drastically changed the chemical makeup of the water being delivered to consumers. The changes included a switch from the use of free chlorine to the use of a more stable compound known as chloramine in the disinfection process. These changes have resulted in water with higher pH, increased levels of aluminum, and reduced amounts of natural organic material (NOM), all of which contribute to a radically higher rate of corrosion within metal plumbing systems. Several recent studies have “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only significant factor in causing the corrosion was the chemistry of the water .” |
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| Q: How can metal plumbing failure be stopped? | |
| The aggressive water chemistry has created a difficult and expensive problem for property owners. Plumbing leaks can create extensive and costly structural damage, but many times the plumbing repair is more disruptive and expensive. The situation is made more difficult by the fact that traditional plumbing repairs do not really resolve the problem. If a property owner chooses to invest in repiping a property with new copper tubing and, in turn, pay the expensive reconstruction fees associated with repairing the structure following a repipe, the new copper tubing may only provide as little as five years of service before pinhole leaks begin to form again. The best long-term solution to pipe corrosion and metal plumbing failure is to stop the aggressive water from coming into contact with the interior walls of the pipe. |
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| A: CuraFlo™ Epoxy Pipe Linings. | |
| The CuraFlo™ Epoxy Pipe Lining System cleans problen pipes and installs a durable, corrosion resistant lining between the pipe surface and the water. The epoxy lining can prevent water contact and the formation of corrosion and pinhole leaks for 50 to 75 years. |
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