Using Epoxy Lining to Fix Pinhole Leaks in Copper Pipes is a Bad Idea

Question:  Rick I’ve got pinhole leaks and I had a guy come by just the other day who said he could blow epoxy lining into my pipes and seal all those pinholes.  What can you tell me about that process?

Rick:  Well, of all the choices that you have, the epoxy lining is the least favorable and there are a lot of reasons for that.

First of all, there are a variety of different formulas and make-ups of these resins.  And we don’t know which are off-gassing more than others.

There was a major company that just lost a class-action lawsuit because they were using epoxy that was not EPA approved.  So who knows what that was introducing into the water?

The epoxy is problematic from a lot of things.  We have seen it absolutely not stop pinhole leaks going forward or seal them up as promised.  And in that event they try a couple times and then they end up coming and repiping around the problem.

Epoxy lining has a limited life-time in this water chemistry.  So what happens is over time it breaks down and it shatters like glass.

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And when it does that it just continues to be introduced to the water, and clogging toilets, and clogging shower heads and looking like shards of glass in your drinking water.

Once that occurs, you are really forced to either repipe the entire home.  Or heaven forbid, allow more of the stuff in there.

So we have the concerns about chemical off-gassing.  About knowing what you’re really getting.  About getting a short life and the problems that happen when it breaks down.

And last but not least, it doesn’t go into your plumbing evenly so it can actually cause log jams where you might lose water pressure.  For example, all the cold water in the master bathroom.

Once that occurs, there not real way to figure out where the clog is and it becomes problematic having to cut out pipes to solve that problem.

So epoxy lining would be the least favorable choice for anybody.

First and foremost you need to address your water chemistry issues and then you do not need to repipe or consider epoxy. 

You simple go forward with the great copper infrastructure that you have behind your walls today.

Reference: Epoxy Liner Performance Considerations

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