Mouldy water pipes

[Croftylad]

Hi folks,
I'm a little bit concerned about my water pipes turning black. I have a self build and the water pipes are clear plastic. The originals were turning black inside so I replaced them but these appear to be going the same way as the originals. I assume they all do this only I can see mine because they are clear. Would copper or hard plastic be better? My wife insists that we're going to get ill. Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Antony

 

[Lee]

I asume that they are food quality, I wouldn't go to copper, I'm not sure how it would cope with the vibration.
If you choose to change the pipework I think you should investigate which is the best.
The pipework on my van which is 17 years old is the sort with a criscross thread running through it and it perfectly clean.

 

[nabsim]

Google biofilm.

If worried sterilise your pipes ?

 

[Croftylad]

Yes they are food quality and I do sterilise them but this doesn't get rid of the black. Antony

 

[Ardachaidh]

If you boil any water you use in tea, coffee etc then I don't see a problem. We fill a plastic bottle from the site tap for drinking water and putting in the whisky. No need to buy bottled water - that's a con for the worried well.

 

[Lee]

After some thought, is it both hot and cold pipes that are affected and could it be a part of the system which is causing the problem i.e. the water storage tank?

 

[Croftylad]

Thanks all for your interest. There is no hot water in the van (apart from the kettle!) so this only affects the cold. I have a refillable 20l container with a pipe sticking into it. The pump is under the sink and this sucks water up from the container. It is the pipe which goes to the pump from the container which turns black. Could it be that this occurs because there are times when air is in this pipe?
Thanks
Antony

 

[Lee]

You could try a non return valve to keep the water in the pipe.
Also do you get the black mould in the water tank?

 

[SquirrellCook]

Any clear water container exposed to sun light will turn green/black. Seems to be worse or better around the country. We run a stainless steel water tank with a copper pickup tube. The rest of the plumbing is twin wall household push fit. Each year we put Milton's fluid in the fresh water tank and fill it to the brim. Drive around for a short while to mix it up. Open all the taps until we can smell the Milton's. It is important not to leave it in the system for too long. We forgot about it for a few weeks and found it corrodes stainless. After rinsing it though you can still smell the Milton's for a short while, but it is safe to drink. Any time we have worked on the plumbing we have not found any dark staining or deposits. As regards to your water container under the sink, I'd be tempted to filter the air it draws in.

Mark.