Category Archives: Pinhole Leak Prevention – Chloramine Removal

Blog, Pinhole Leak Prevention - Chloramine Removal

Why Do People Say Epoxy Lining Is Bad For Plumbing?

Recently we got a comment on this YouTube video below that we felt we needed to address.

First, check out the video in order to understand the subject being discussed.

Why Do People Say Epoxy Lining Is Bad For Plumbing?

Hi, this is Rick from Pure Elements Water. We are experts in preventing pinhole leaks in copper plumbing.

A lot of people ask us about the alternative of epoxy lining.

The epoxy lining has several different issues associated with it.

The first is, it doesn’t always coat equally. So it can create hot spots and create immediate leak situations and the epoxy lining people will now come and have to fix that.

Uneven application plus clumping and disproportionate bonding leading to almost 50 percent reduction in water flow.

The second thing is, the jury is out regarding MTBE’s and BPA’s. If you research that a little bit, you will find there is a big concern about chemicals, these resins can be giving off into your bathing and showering and drinking water.

In addition, once you do epoxy lining, you can’t use a traditional plumber, because the epoxy lining is flammable and even explosive in some cases. So now you’re married to the epoxy lining company to come out and do any repairs in your home.

And another really important factor is that the chloramines in the water actually render the epoxy linings brittle over time and they will break down and shatter like glass. And you can’t get it out. It clogs your shower heads and your fixtures and it’s very disconcerting when you look at that in a glass of water to drink or water to cook with.

So eventually, when that happens, the normal rule of thumb is the entire house needs to be replumbed because you can’t get everything out.

So, by contrast, we address the pinhole leak problem by fixing the water chemistry, stopping the attack on your existing copper pipes and allowing you to maintain those without having to blow any epoxy lining into them or without even having to consider a repiping situation.

So we look forward to helping you with that.

So the comment made, which you can see in the video comments of YouTube was: “Dude’s mad his job is being taken away by liners! lmao.”

We felt he didn’t watch the video because he missed all the points as to why we feel epoxy lining is not a good choice.

Our reply was: “Uneven application, water volume and pressure loss, lack of uniform adhesion, chemical off-gassing into the water, and some mold between the lining and the piping.

This is rippling and a lack of smooth coating, creating risk for problems because of the disruption of water flow.
Lack of adherence to the pipe by the epoxy that led to water between the epoxy and the pipe and mold.

Our systems eliminate all of this for less money, and effectively prevent pinhole leaks. Why would you adversely affect your water quality in your home, when you can enhance it by addressing chemicals and heavy metals and reducing hard water issues without salt at the same time? We clearly have the better answer, which is why 9 out of 10 times homeowners choose our option over epoxy linings after learning the facts. Which leads to job security for us…”

Incomplete application – copper pipe is only partially coated with epoxy and the rest is unprotected.
Incomplete application – copper pipe is only partially coated with epoxy and the rest is unprotected.

You need to take control immediately and address your water chemistry to protect the copper plumbing infrastructure in your home, as well as your family’s health. So please give us a call and we’ll be happy to help you out.

PEX pipe can be problematic too.

Reverse osmosis system for Newport Beach CA homeowners
PUre Elements Water is based out of Newport Beach, CA but serves all of Southern California as well as across the USA.
Blog, Pinhole Leak Prevention - Chloramine Removal

Rick can you give us the latest update on PEX plastic pipe?

Sure. We have been watching the PEX plastic, which has been used in California for more than 10 years now.

Let’s discuss the latest information on PEX off-gassing.

We know that all of the brands of PEX are introducing different levels of carcinogenic chemicals, although below the legal limit.  (Legal limits for contaminants in tap water have NOT been updated in close to 20 years!) And these things are getting into the bath and shower water and the consumption water.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is PEX-Plastic-Pipe-Health-Update-Orange-County-CA.jpg
PEX Plastic Pipe Orange County CA – Update on pricing and off-gassing.

We also know from a price standpoint that PEX piping has nearly doubled from re-piping a home. 

This makes addressing your water quality conditions with a whole house filtration and salt free water conditioning system much more affordable. You do not need to re-pipe if you change the water chemistry and remove the chloramines that cause pinhole leaks. And do it before you get pinhole leak damage. Prevent them rather than wait to repair them.

Our systems are a great way to save money and avoid the disruption and other problems that come with re-piping with plastic pipes.

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Pure Elements Water – Best House Water Filtration Systems For Orange County CA
Blog, Pinhole Leak Prevention - Chloramine Removal

Stellar Review of Pure Elements Water pinhole leak protection Service

Below is a recent review of our service regarding preventing pinhole leaks in copper plumbing in Irvine, CA from reoccurring. These folks did a lot of research on how to best handle their plumbing issues and that’s why they came to us.

“RICK, NICK, & the PURE ELEMENTS WATER company are a pleasure to work with.

My home had a pinhole leak about 1.5 years ago. We had the leak fixed, but have since been concerned about the high possibility of another pinhole leak occurring, especially since this is any issue for many of the homes in our area. For about 1.5 years now, my husband and I have been researching options, including PEX or the EPOXY lining. We even had several companies quote us for both PEX and EPOXY.

Water filter remove chloramine in Altair neighborhood Irvine CA 92618

We know of several individuals that have repiped their home with PEX, however felt this option was too aggressive, since this would create multiple holes throughout our entire home. Furthermore, after researching the pro/cons of PEX and although certain companies did provide a good warranty, we felt that at this time PEX was definitely the most aggressive option, especially since we had a functioning copper pipe system at this time.

Another option we debated was EPOXY lining of the existing copper pipes. This was a more conservative option to PEX. However most of the companies that had provide us with quotes did not provide a warranty that stood behind their work — meaning if the epoxy failed and there was a leak — the best warranty we found was a company that would fix the leak at no charge, but collateral damage was not covered. Which to us meant that they were not confident that there would not be another pinhole leak after the EPOXY lining.

It seemed that both PEX and EPOXY were addressing the damage caused by chemicals in the water, mainly chloramine. BUT neither addressed the main cause: the water chemistry — the chemicals in the water itself that are causing the damage.

Older video but gives a good overview of our systems that get installed in Irvine.

In search for a more conservative option to PEX, we actually found PURE ELEMENTS WATER FILTRATION SYSTEM. The website, the information I found online, and Rick the owner, helped me understand that their water filtration system actually addresses the main cause — the chemicals (mainly chloramine) that are causing the damage to the copper pipes, leading to the pinhole leaks.

I contacted Rick on the YELP app, and he responded right away, and I was able to speak with him on the phone that day for more than 1 hour — and this was on a weekend day (not a weekday!) Rick was extremely knowledgeable, informative, friendly, and attentive It was obvious that he had a lot of passion and experience about water.

After the conversation, Rick agreed to meet in person with my husband and I, and was even very accommodating with the meeting time. When he arrived to our house, he was on time and spent over 1.5 hours educating us. He helped us realize that his filtration system is NOT like all other filtration systems out there, because his filtration system is actually customized to address the type of water and chemicals coming into your home in your community.

After reviewing the pro/cons of all our options, my husband and I decided to move forward with the PURE ELEMENTS WATER FILTRATION SYSTEM.

On the day of installation, Nick from the company came to build us a customized set up for our home and for our custom built Pure Elements Water Filtration Tank. Nick was friendly, efficient, and his work was very clean.

Rick (the owner), Nick, and the entire Pure Elements Team have been nothing but helpful and accommodating.

We look forward to now having drinking water from each faucet, as well as removal of the chemicals from the water, that have been the source and cause of the pinhole leaks. When there is a problem, it only makes sense to address the cause first. We feel that installing the Pure Elements Water Filtration system is the most conservative and logical way to approach this widespread pinhole leak issue.

Thank you Pure Elements Team for your help and great customer service.”

Pure Whole House Water Filtration System Irvine CA

Blog, Pinhole Leak Prevention - Chloramine Removal

UPDATE – Southern California Solution to Pinhole Leaks in Copper Pipes is Less Expensive

Rick many people call us looking for the best solution for pinhole leaks. What are their options?

Pinhole Leaks in Copper Pipes can be stopped by changing the water chemistry inside the home by filtering out the contaminants that cause the leaks to form.

Well, many of these people are being pushed down the standard path toward re-piping the home. They will be told to replace the pipes with PEX plastic tubing, which is still extremely controversial because it introduces foreign chemicals into the water. Many of these chemicals are carcinogenic.

Although the chemicals are below legal limits that does not mean much since legal limits have not been updated in over 20 years.  https://www.epa.gov/sdwa.  Just because a contaminant is below legal limits does not mean it is necessarily safe.  We often find out later that it is not but by then the damage is already done. 

We are also not a big fan of PEX plastic pipe because it has about half the life of copper materials. It might only last 25 to 50 years.  It is surprising how fast 25 years can go by.  Copper can easily last 50 to 70 years.  Both will last longer if you change the water chemistry going into them so they don’t break down.  That is what our product is all about.

A water filtration system for house Orange County CA is good to have to filter out what PEX might leach into the water.

Recently the PEX industry has seen a dramatic increase in the pricing, so that used to be the best price choice but it is no longer.

Another approach is to line pipes with epoxy linings, which are resin. Again this introduces chemicals into the water creating potential for health issues.  And there are a host of other issues with epoxy.  It is best used for sewer lines.

The best solution is to fix the water chemistry and stop the attack on the existing copper pipes. When you do this you can maintain your copper pipes in place without the cost or disruption of re-piping. Get the initial pinhole leak fixed and then get our system installed to clean the water correctly and protect the pipes.  You can avoid controversial materials like PEX plastic piping and in addition to that you can enjoy exceptional water quality for bathing and cooking and drinking and all your household water needs.

Check us out for that.  We’re about half the cost of what it takes today to re-pipe a standard home in the traditional plastic piping you.

Blog, Pinhole Leak Prevention - Chloramine Removal

Water Purification Systems in Ladera Ranch CA – Remove Chloramine

Hi, this is Rick from Pure Elements Water, and we are experts at preventing future pinhole leaks in copper plumbing. Chloramines are the disinfectant that are plaguing the coast in California. The levels have more quadrupled in the last four years and crossed the tipping point, so they are eating your metal from the inside out. We focus on chloramine filters and the reduction of chloramine to levels below detectable in lab tests so that we can help you prevent future pinhole leaks. Chloramine filters are not created equal. It is a very tricky process to effectively get those out of your water, and it’s important to get them out not only to protect your copper piping infrastructure, but also for health concerns and other issues in the home. So we can help you prevent the pinhole leaks and we look forward to working with you.

water purification system orange county ca
water purification system orange county ca

In the majority of cases, a water purification system in Ladera Ranch CA can remove chloramines and prevent pinhole leaks.

Blog, Pinhole Leak Prevention - Chloramine Removal

Stoppinholes.com is now LIVE!

We have created a new satellite website called stoppinholes.com.  This site will thoroughly address the pinhole leak epidemic that many people are experiencing in Southern Orange County.

Stoppinholes.com

This new site goes into greater detail in regards to the causes of pinholes in copper plumbing as well as a homeowner’s possible options to solve the problem.

There are also many examples of chloramaine filters we have installed for happy clients in Ladera Ranch, San Clemente, Newport Beach, Dana Point, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest and all over Orange County, California.