I was watching an episode with their plumber Rich. A homeowner called in to say they had very blue water along with high copper levels in their water causing corrosion of their appliances and fixtures and asked if "Ask This Old House" could help solve the problem.
This was an older home and indeed the copper levels were very high, as the homeowner had the water tested. The family was fairly new to this home however so we don't know if this high copper issue had been an ongoing problem or something new. Rich and Kevin were in the studio discussing this problem, possible causes, and probable solutions as they do at the beginning of the show. The homeowner had an existing water softener in the home that was working fine. After looking into a possible reason for the excessive copper issues, while at the customer's home. Rich came to the conclusion the water softener was the cause of the problem and soft water was causing excessive corrosion of the copper plumbing. Hence the high copper levels.
Being in the water treatment business for over thirty years I was stunned by his statement. In reality, the exact opposite is the truth. Part of the problem was, and I see this every day, people making, rushed, uninformed decisions before they do the proper research, water testing, or look for other possible causes of the problem. As I've stated many times it is of utmost importance to listen to the homeowner, get their view of the water problems to help narrow down the problems, and find the proper solution. In this particular instance, there are many possible causes for the excess copper causing "Blue Water" and 99% of them have nothing to do with the water softener or softened water.
Let's look at some of the possible causes of excess copper in the water and blue water:
1. Excessively high water pressure - Water pressure in excess of 70 psi can cause corrosion of copper plumbing, particularly at plumbing elbows.
2. Water heater temperature set too high - Excessively hot water will corrode copper plumbing.
3. Improperly installed household ground - Corrosion of water heaters is a common problem when they are not grounded properly. This goes for every water heater whether it is electric, standard vent, or a power vent heater. Generally, they fail prematurely. This is generally related to faulty electrical system grounding. The electrical ground is broken across the dielectric unions on the water heater causing corrosion, leaking, and premature failure. Water heaters failing in 4-7 years when a water heater should last 10-15 years or more.
4. Bad household ground - If the home electrical system is not properly grounded this can cause many problems including corrosion of copper plumbing.
5. Low PH water - PH levels below 6.5 are considered acidic and very corrosive to plumbing, fixtures,
and appliances. Ideal PH levels are between 6.5 - 8. To correct low PH levels calcite or soda ash is introduced into the incoming water supply to raise the PH to a neutral PH of 7.0 or higher.
6. High TDS - "Total Dissolved Solids". High TDS can be attributed to extremely hard water, high chlorides, or high sodium content in the water supply. Typically water problems such as this would be associated with a private well supply.
7. Excessive dissolved oxygen - High dissolved oxygen levels are extremely corrosive on all plumbing and can be very difficult to treat. In private wells high dissolved oxygen levels occur frequently after snowmelt and heavy spring rains as the water tables rise, bringing high levels of dissolved oxygen in the water and underground aquifers. Many community water supplies also treat their water by aerating the water, then filtering it to remove iron, arsenic, and other contaminants. Creating high dissolved oxygen levels.
8. Occasionally, high levels of naturally occurring copper are present in private wells.
9. Bacteria - Sulfate-reducing bacteria and Iron bacteria can be very corrosive to plumbing among other problems.
10. Soft water corrosion - So-called "soft water corrosion", is directly related to high total dissolved solids (TDS) as stated above and is caused by "Soft water" but high TDS corrosion due to chlorides or naturally occurring high sodium levels in the water supply.
11. Dielectric Union failure at the water heater inlet and or outlet. (See faulty electrical system ground).
Let's look at some of the possible causes of excess copper in the water and blue water:
1. Excessively high water pressure - Water pressure in excess of 70 psi can cause corrosion of copper plumbing, particularly at plumbing elbows.
2. Water heater temperature set too high - Excessively hot water will corrode copper plumbing.
3. Improperly installed household ground - Corrosion of water heaters is a common problem when they are not grounded properly. This goes for every water heater whether it is electric, standard vent, or a power vent heater. Generally, they fail prematurely. This is generally related to faulty electrical system grounding. The electrical ground is broken across the dielectric unions on the water heater causing corrosion, leaking, and premature failure. Water heaters failing in 4-7 years when a water heater should last 10-15 years or more.
4. Bad household ground - If the home electrical system is not properly grounded this can cause many problems including corrosion of copper plumbing.
5. Low PH water - PH levels below 6.5 are considered acidic and very corrosive to plumbing, fixtures,
6. High TDS - "Total Dissolved Solids". High TDS can be attributed to extremely hard water, high chlorides, or high sodium content in the water supply. Typically water problems such as this would be associated with a private well supply.
7. Excessive dissolved oxygen - High dissolved oxygen levels are extremely corrosive on all plumbing and can be very difficult to treat. In private wells high dissolved oxygen levels occur frequently after snowmelt and heavy spring rains as the water tables rise, bringing high levels of dissolved oxygen in the water and underground aquifers. Many community water supplies also treat their water by aerating the water, then filtering it to remove iron, arsenic, and other contaminants. Creating high dissolved oxygen levels.
8. Occasionally, high levels of naturally occurring copper are present in private wells.
9. Bacteria - Sulfate-reducing bacteria and Iron bacteria can be very corrosive to plumbing among other problems.
10. Soft water corrosion - So-called "soft water corrosion", is directly related to high total dissolved solids (TDS) as stated above and is caused by "Soft water" but high TDS corrosion due to chlorides or naturally occurring high sodium levels in the water supply.
11. Dielectric Union failure at the water heater inlet and or outlet. (See faulty electrical system ground).
12. Recirculation pumps on water heaters. This is a very common problem when recirculation pumps are installed and the temperature on the heater is left very high.
In the "Ask This Old House" episode it was discovered the water heater was actually the source of the problem. "NOT" softened water. Bad grounding and water temperature set too high on the water heater trying to compensate for a failing water heater were the root cause of the problem. All the copper plumbing after the water heater was so pitted and corroded it had to be replaced. They actually brought in a "Forensic Plumbing Expert". Which I never knew existed. To help diagnose the problem and suggest the proper solution. I'm surprised Rich couldn't figure this out on his own.
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| Dielectric Union Failure on Water Heater Inlet |
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| Blue-Green Staining caused by copper corrosion |
In the "Ask This Old House" episode it was discovered the water heater was actually the source of the problem. "NOT" softened water. Bad grounding and water temperature set too high on the water heater trying to compensate for a failing water heater were the root cause of the problem. All the copper plumbing after the water heater was so pitted and corroded it had to be replaced. They actually brought in a "Forensic Plumbing Expert". Which I never knew existed. To help diagnose the problem and suggest the proper solution. I'm surprised Rich couldn't figure this out on his own.
Recently I had a call from a customer that moved into a new subdivision. All of the homes in this development are plumbed in plastic PEX pipe. The odd thing is that even with plastic Pex plumbing all the homes on their particular street have excessively high copper problems and extremely blue water that is corroding all the fixtures and ruining everything in the home. Including their, new, expensive custom tiled showers.
This development is on a community well water supply and has "hard water" so water softeners are a necessity. Very similar to what happened on the "Ask This Old House" episode many people were blaming the water problems on their water softeners. That made absolutely no sense as there wasn't any copper plumbing after the water softener to corrode! To make a long story, short. The problem was occurring at the water meters (brass and copper). Excessively high water pressure from the community well, (80+ psi), along with high dissolved oxygen levels from the community well filtration system to remove iron and arsenic, was causing corrosion of the water meters and leaching high copper levels into the water. The solution? Pressure regulators were installed before the water meters at every home and set at 60psi, which solved the corrosion problems and made everyone very happy.
How did I help solve this problem for my customer and their neighbors? I listen to my customers AND I watch, "Ask This Old House"!
After over thirty years in the water treatment business, I still learn something new every day!
Here are links relating to subjects discussed in this article:
PH and Water
Blue Green Staining
Colors and Smells in water
Copper Corrosion
Copper Toxicity
The Benefits of Soft Water
Good Water, Good Life!
Beauchamp Water Treatment Solutions
872 N Old US 23 Brighton, MI 48114
810 632 2000
www.beauchampwater.com
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Raymond McConnell
