Water Piping – Copper or Plastic
When it comes to water pipes, copper has been the material of choice for a very very long time.
Plastic pipes of all sorts (PEX, uPVC, HDPE) have become increasingly popular in the past 20 to 30 years. One reason being the increasing cost of copper pipes over their equivalent in plastic.
So, what are the pros and cons?
Conclusion
There is no one 100% safe solution. Little is known at present about the plastic piping release of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and assimlable organic carbon (AOC’s). Copper is the system with the easiest of issues to control and mitigate and on balance appears to be the better option.