Plumbing - Piping material affects water quality, study reveals

28/08/2007

A US research team has undertaken a study into whether piping material affects water quality, it has been reported.

In particular the team from Virginia Tech looked into whether plastic piping has any effect on the taste and smell of drinking water and undertook tests on a number of different plastics, according to a report from AZoBuild.

It was revealed that there was significant disparity between different materials, with chlorinated polyvinyl chloride having a "low odour potential", while high-density polyethylene was most prone to producing odour.

Meanwhile, in news that might be surprising to all but those with the most cultured palates, tasters found that the flavours varied from "waxy plastic citrus" to "fruity plastic".

Andrea Dietrich, who led the study, claims that because "most people expect their drinking water to have little or no flavour" hence any taste or odour is "highly noticeable".

Mr Dietrich added that she expected more research to be conducted along these lines as a result of pinhole leaks prompting a search for a "plastic alternative".