Has anyone had pex plumbing for a while? Have you experienced odors/chemicals in your water?
We are replacing all the mechanical systems, and pex seems attractive because it's easier to install and cheaper.... and hopefully less prone to freezing and bursting. However, I'm concerned about the "gasoline smell" and chemical leaching associated with pex - and there's only one detailed study about it I can find! See link here: http://wheltongroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/IN-RuralWaterConfLunchPres-Aug2015.pdf
Would love to hear about people's experiences with pex.
Discussion
We installed pex 4 years ago with no issues. I've never heard of such problems.
Cool thanks. Have any of you w ped installed a central or home run manifold system? That's our plan and it seems not too complicated but we haven't done it before...
I've had PEX supply lines for the past six years without any issues. One thing you might want to consider is testing and possibly filtering your drinking water (regardless of what type of supply lines you have) if your home was built in the 1920s or earlier. Many historic homes here have lead service pipes from the street. If you look at the water main in your basement and trace the pipe back to where it meets the foundation (where city water enters your home), and if it's a dull gray and seems somewhat malleable (it may be dented) it may be made of lead. Unfortunately, replacing it is costly and requires excavation of your yard.
We've had pex in our commercial building for around a year, I have not noticed any weird taste or smell when I drink water there. My family also has several rental units (most houses 1920s-1950s) where they have replaced plumbing with pex, and my brother has done this in is own home, in all cases have not had any trouble with smell or taste there either. These are all only 3-7 years since installing, so not a super long time. However, I don't think we have done any water testing to see if there is any data to support chemical leaching! We've been pretty pleased with it thus far, really easy to install and in some cases when you're replacing huge pipes, so much lighter!