How to Reduce Lead in Your Drinking Water

Lead has been a hot new topic, but not for the Keystone Clean Water Team.  We have been talking about and educating the public,  private well users, and city water users about lead and drinking water quality for over 30 years.  Here are some suggestions to reduce lead in your drinking water.

1. Flush your pipes before using the water for drinking – most of the lead in the water is not coming from the water source, but from the piping in your home or the main water line.  Lead may be also coming some of the fixtures or some of the scale that as built up over time on the inside of the pipes.    The longer the water has been sitting in the piping – the higher the lead content – “SO flush it out”.    (How Long?  – about 2 minutes or until it becomes noticeably cold).    Hint- “Most of the time the source is your water pipes, NOT the main.”
2. Use ONLY Cold Water for Consumption – this includes making soup, tea, coffee, etc.   Hot water likely contains even more lead.  Also – watch the cookware ! Glazed pottery and some glazing used tableware and cookware can contain lead and other metals, like aluminum.  (Watch imported and traditional Goods and replicas !)
3. Get the Water Tested – Ask the Utility to Test, Contact a Testing Laboratory, or conduct an Informational Water Test from a reliable source, but get the facts and do a first flush and flushed test for copper, lead, and zinc.   If you think there is a problem and you have a private water system or well, you may want a more comprehensive test to determine the corrosion and/or scale forming potential of your water.
4. If you have slime coating or odors – Get a bacterial test that includes total coliform, standard plate count, E. coli.,  and slime forming bacteria.

Hints You May Have A Lead Problem

1. Your home has faucets or fitting made of brass that contains some lead.
2. Your home has lead pipes.
3. Your home has copper pipes with lead solder and the home is older than 1989, the water is soft, and the water is used intermittently.
4. You have pin hole leak, blue-green stains, or blue water.
5. Your home was built before 1930s.
6. Piping installed prior to 1986 may have solder and flux that was high in lead – How High?  At one time as high as 50 % lead.   In 1986, the term lead-free applies to solders and flux that are 0.2 % lead and pipes and fittings must be 8 % or less lead.  This did not go into effect until about 1988.

More on Corrosion and More on Lead.   Indoor testing of paint and sources for lead.

Blood lead levels PA cities.

Please do not forget about environmental lead exposure and note foreign products may have more lead- old paint, chipping paint, glazed pottery, some cosmetics, lipstick,  some Lead Awareness, kids toys (especially imported),   imported foods in cans, work exposure to lead, lead batteries, imported candles, lead contaminated soils.   (Sources- NY State; FDA)

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Please note – This is one reason to Buy – Made in America !

We have been asked for a recommendation on a faucet mounted or counter mounted treatment system – Based on a review – it appears the NSF Certified – Paragon P3200 would be a suitable Countertop Treatment Unit (replace filter cartridge annually)- Use Promo Code A27AC.