I have a swimming pool that is leaking somewhere in the piping. Can some sort of a liner be put in the pipe to stop the leaks? The pipe is PVC and has several 90 degree bends.

- Ed

Ed, unfortunately your problem is the pipe material used, not that there are 90 degree bends. If your pipes were metallic, epoxy lining them could have been a solution. PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipes, used in most pool installations, can’t have a lining installed. You’re going to have to excavate the pipes and then repaired or replaced.

-Brian

I have a slab leak - the side of my garage is seeping water through the outside of the garage - per the last plumber - it is a drainage line break at the 90 that supports the upstairs bathroom.  They are talking about excavating under the foundation and repairing - can we sleeve instead.  We can see the pipe through the sheet-rock in the garage…
Please tell me what to do - estimate came in at $3,000.

-Angelica

Angelica, a pipe sleeve is used to protect a pipe from the material it’s passing through (e.g. a wall or concrete), what you’re referring to is called sock lining, and it may be a solution to your problem. I would suggest that you contact a plumbing company in your area that has sock lining technologies to get an estimate.

-Brian

What is the chemical composition of CuraPoxy? How safe is it to drink water from pipe lined with this as compared to other plastic pipes and water containers?

-Gerry

Gerry, while I can’t disclose the chemical composition of CuraFlo’s epoxy, CuraPoxy®, I can tell you that it’s certified to meet ANSI/NSF Standard 61 which is the U.S. government’s standard for safe drinking water. This standard has been in place since 1988 and has been used to certify over 12,000 products. To find out about the safe for drinking water certifications on plastic pipes and bottles I recommend you contact their specific manufacturers directly. 

-Dr. Dave

I have a 4″ clay pipe which is a downspout drain and is leaking.  The pipe runs under an addition to the house.  There isn’t sufficient space under the addition to access the pipe at all.  Any ideas of how I can pull a liner or flexible pipe through the 4″ clay pipe (which also bends slightly?)  Currently, run off from the downspout runs under the house and there is no other place to go with the drainage.

-Bill

Bill, there are firms that specialize in lining failing pipes, but I’m not aware of any liners that you can use yourself. I would suggest that you contact a plumbing company in your area that has sock lining technologies. You may require access from one or both ends depending upon which sock lining technology is used.

-Brian

My back yard drain (partially under cement) is the old orangeberg pipe. When it is snaked out to remove and roots etc I am now receiving parts of the pipe. Total replacement would be tremendous. Can one sleeve orangeberg and is it economical? Can one use  the epoxy liner to fix?

-Richard

Richard, Orangeburg pipe, also called “fibre conduit”, is made from made from layers of wood pulp and pitch (for more information, see the article on Wikipedia here). Because Orangeburg lacks in structural integrity (even when it was new), it’s not a suitable host pipe for epoxy lining. It might be possible to sock line Orangeburg pipe if enough of it is intact, but you’ll need to consult with a company that offers these services to find out. The North American Society for Trenchless Technology’s website, is a good place to start looking for companies that offer different trenchless solutions that might have a solution for you, or at least offer additional insight.

-Brian

Does the PEX plastic tubing used for plumbing contain bisphenol-A (BPA)?

-Debbie

We have Pex plastic pipes in our house supplying water to our bathrooms. Does Pex pipes contain BPA or any other toxic chemical?

-Barry

Debbie and Barry, I don’t have the first hand experience with PEX to directly speak to its chemical composition. However, I can tell you that if it is ANSI/NSF 61 certified, it meets the U.S. government’s strict standards for safe drinking water safety. This standard has been in place since 1988 and has been used to certify over 12,000 products. You can get more information about the ANSI/NSF 61 standard by visiting NSF International’s website and CuraFlo’s website.

-Dr. Dave

We replaced our hot water tank 5 months ago and since then, in the room behind the closet where the tank is located, we can hear a “ping”. It is almost rhythmic. We have turned the power off on the tank thinking it was electrical but the noise continued for one hour. We have replaced the thermostat, which interestingly enough made a slight difference in that it generally stops during the night but as soon as water is turned on it starts again and will go for hours afterwards. I think it sounds like water dripping from one pipe onto another, my husband thinks I’m a worry wart! No water appears under the wall (we are on a slab). The noise is extremely faint in the closet where the tank is but can also be heard faintly in the other bathroom quite a distance away. Any suggestions? The manufacturer of the tank said it may be a “singing” element and to replace those with a better quality but if that was the case, it would be quiet when the power was off would it not? Please, any suggestions?

-Rae

Rae, it is possible for home water heaters to become noisy less than a year after they’ve been installed. And many times you can only hear the noises at night, when the inside of your home is quiet and there isn’t much going on outside.

In gas heaters, the noise can be caused by the buildup of lime, other minerals, or sand on the bottom of the water heater’s tank. When the heater’s gas burner comes on, the heated water bubbling through the mineral formations and sediment creates the noise. Electric heaters can generate singing or hissing noises, they have heating elements that are immersed in the tank’s water, and lime or scale accumulating on the elements causes the noises. The elements can be removed and cleaned with vinegar, but in really bad cases the element may need to be replaced.

You might be able to cut down the noise by disconnecting the heater and flushing the tank. But, it may not be possible to remove all the mineral deposits from the bottom of the tank, so that when you hook the tank back up, it may just become noisy again. If you have hard water, a solution might be for you to install a water softener, to prevent mineral build up.

-Brian

Does copper kill fungus or Bacteria? What is the effect of epoxy lining on Bacteria?

-Don

Don, copper won’t kill bacteria or fungus –in fact, in both copper and galvanized steel pipes, bacteria and other microscopic organisms grow in encrustation on the corroded pipe wall or on the corroded areas themselves. Epoxy pipe lining prevents corrosion and encrustation by creating a barrier between the pipe and water. The bacteria and other organisms will no longer be present to cause bad tasting or smelling water.

-Dr. Dave

Is there any type of fitting/connector to connect CPVC cold water line to PVC?

-Chuck

Chuck, I’m not sure if that type of fitting/connector exists or if those pipe types are at all compatible. Gluing a MIP adaptor (Male Iron Pipe Adapter, which has male pipe threads and will adapt to PVC and a few other types of pipe to make a transition from threaded pipe to a type other than threaded) on each end and then using a union might do the trick, but I would recommend checking the manufacturer’s website or contacting them.

-Brian

My plumbing is clogging/ slowly draining tub and toilet combo. We snaked from back of house to city sewer line- 80 feet- seemed clear enough. Then we flushed the toilet a few times- fine. Then we filled the bath tub halfway and it would not drain actually came back into toilet a bit. we mini-snaked the bath tub and toilet- they continued to trade their water back and forth… Could this be a vent problem? Or does it totally sound like a main sewer clog or break. We are going to snake from the soilstack to the city next- Just trying everything before having to shell out the big bucks for a whole new sewer line.

-Val

Val, If you’re flushing only twice and its already backing up into you bathtub, it suggests that whatever is wrong is located very close to the toilet (if the rest of the line is clear). I suggest hiring a local plumbing contractor to insert a camera down into the line and provide you with a report. With today’s cameras they’ll be able to see for themselves and show you what’s wrong and pinpoint the location of the problem -in color. Make sure you examine the report carefully and ask any questions you have right away.

-Brian