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blog/how-do-i-know-my-water-supply-is-safe
By: FlowGuard on Oct 3, 2022 1:00:00 AM
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How do I Know my Water Supply is Safe?

Take a look at your water supply at home. Invisible, potentially harmful bacteria could exist in the water we use every day.

What are some of the causes of water contamination and what role do plumbing pipes have in the cause and prevention of contamination in our homes?

FlowGuard® CPVC has been designed to protect families with clean, safe drinking water.

Read on to learn more about some of the common threats to plumbing material and why the right selection of plumbing pipe for your home is detrimental to the quality and safety of the water you consume every day.

Which types of plumbing system are best for water supply?

FGAFR - The Importance of Water Safety -Large

What makes a good piping system?

When choosing a plumbing system, the following two categories can summarise what your priorities should be, when deciding which material is best.

Safety

In many cases, contaminated water and clean water can look identical. However, invisible bacteria such as E. Coli and legionella can lead to life threatening diseases.

Bacteria can grow inside plumbing pipes as biofilm. If biofilm is allowed to safely grow to dangerous levels, it can pass through the water into our kitchens and bathrooms and be transmitted to our bodies.

Chemical contamination is also a threat, especially if pipe material degrades under ordinary environmental circumstances. For example, the chlorine and chlorine dioxide used around the world for disinfecting water can sometimes degrade pipe materials, leaching chemicals into the supply and weakening the plumbing system itself.

Performance

Don’t forget performance when choosing the best plumbing system for your home. The problems illustrated above can also cause a significant drop in system performance.

For example, corrosion can lead to leaks which require system replacement. Buildup of bacteria, scaling or beading (to be discussed later) can lead to a drop in water pressure and more costly repairs.

Lubrizol has designed FlowGuard CPVC for a 50 year service life.

For many decades, it has been used in residential and commercial plumbing applications and has been approved by international water safety agencies such as NSF International for its exceptional, reliable performance distributing drinking water.

Let’s take a look at CPVC in a little more detail.

Is CPVC pipe safe for drinking water?

safe drinking water leaving CPVC pipe

FlowGuard CPVC gets its bacteria resistance from its pipe smoothness. Put simply, if bacteria has nowhere to attach, it has no place to grow.

CPVC is chlorinated polyvinyl chloride. The high chlorine content gives plumbing pipes their material strength, creating a hard surface that remains smooth throughout its service life.

The chlorine contained within FlowGuard CPVC provides a natural immunity to the chlorine in the water. This means it is highly resistant to the common causes of corrosion in domestic drinking water. This prevents chemical leaching, as well as degradation of the pipe itself.

The joints created between FlowGuard CPVC pipes and fittings do not create weak points. Instead they become the strongest part of the system, having been fused molecularly.

This means no gaps for bacteria to grow and no weak points where corrosion can take hold. This helps protect the 50 year designed service life of 50 years that FlowGuard CPVC has become known for.

Can you plumb a house with CPVC?

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The FlowGuard CPVC installation process is a safe, quick process that requires no heat welding or heavy machinery. This is specifically designed to protect water safety, as well as homes and residents in the short term. Here’s why.

When we look at the installation of PPR, we can see how heat welding creates a "beading" effect on the pipes interior; this restricts water flow, weakens water pressure and creates hiding places within the system for bacteria to grow.

Not only is FlowGuard CPVC creating a safer place for plumbers to work among the public, FlowGuard CPVC protects water from contamination, plumbing pipe degradation and expensive repairs in the long run.

Learn More

To find out more about the importance of water safety and how pipe material can have a direct impact on the safety of your drinking water at home, watch the video and download our brochure, Clean Water at Home.