From 1975 through 1995, polybutylene pipes were used almost exclusively in new home constructions, primarily due to the low pricing and how easy it was to install. Its use was discontinued because it can react badly to water and become brittle and damaged easily. If your home was built during this time, it is important to find out if your pipes were made of polybutylene before they fail and you are forced into polybutylene replacement. Learning how to recognize this type of piping can be fairly easy if you keep the following information in mind.

The best way to find out if there are polybutylene pipes in the home is to call for the services of a good plumber or home inspector. Actually, new homes for sale are often being serviced by home inspectors who pass their findings to the prospective buyers. Perhaps, you may have been notified by a home inspector about the need for polybutylene replacement in your new home but you still do not fully understand the need for this. It takes experience to discover if the pipes are bad and due for replacement. As a result, it is expected that you first get to know how to identify pipes made of polybutylene so that you can be able to call a plumber. It is the plumber who will be able to make the pipe replacement if there is need for it.

The first place to commence the search is usually at the hot water tank. The place where the pipes enter the home should be found out. Pipes made of polybutylene are usually blue in color at the place where they leave the underground into the home. Some of them also have black and gray colors. However, it is important to note that every black pipe that comes into the house from the underground may not really be polybutylene pipes. If polybutylene plumbing is difficult to find in the other parts of the home, it may be easier to identify it near the water meter. This is because some builders prefer using pipes made of copper around the house and the polybutylene pipes near the water meter.

Pipes made from polybutylene were used in the interior of the house and underground as well. The interior pipes can be easily spotted around the water tank and also in the basement. Just because you see copper piping in many places of your house, you should not presume that there is not going to be polybutylene elsewhere. You need to methodically follow the full plumbing lines to make sure. When you find these pipes you will need an experienced plumber to do the polybutylene replacement, as it is a major plumbing job and many owners cannot handle it on their own.