Pinhole Leaks: Explained

7/2/2020 (Permalink)

What are Pinhole Leaks? Do you have them? 

According to repairmyleak.com, there are a few forms of corrosion in copper pipes, but pitting corrosion is most likely to culminate in pinhole leaks in plumbing systems made of copper. 

"Pitting corrosion is the non-uniform localized attack of the wall of a copper tube, pipe, or fittings initiated on the inside surface of copper water pipes. Usually, only small areas of the metal surface are attacked.

Pitting corrosion can be classified into three types:

Type I 
Cause: Hard Water
Type I pitting is associated with hard or moderately hard waters with a pH between 7 and 7.8, and it is most likely to occur in cold water. The pitting is deep and narrow, and results in pipe failure.

Type II 
Cause: Soft Water
Type II pitting occurs only in certain soft waters, with a pH below 7.2 and occurs rarely in temperatures below 140° F. The pitting that occurs is narrower than in Type I, but still results in pipe failure.

Type III 
cause: Cold, Soft Water High PH
Type III pitting occurs in cold soft waters having a pH above 8.0. It is a more generalized form of pitting, which tends to be wide and shallow and results in blue water, byproduct releases, or pipe blockage."

If your commercial building suffers from a pinhole leak, call SERVPRO® of Tuscaloosa at 205-553-8377.