What causes copper pipe corrosion?
At the moment on one really knows what causes copper pipe corrosion. The CSIRO, amongst others, is currently contributing to research into the issue to come up with some more definitive answers for the cause. The most agreed cause to-date is microbiological (bacteria) influenced corrosion. The biggest mystery is why it can affect one house (or only one section of pipe in one house) in a street and not the others, even though all the properties are of a similar age and using similar pipes and the same mains water. Some popularly mentioned causes are the hardness and pH of the water, the age of the pipes, electrical earth currents and electrolysis. But there is evidence of ‘blue water’ in many parts of Australia and around the world – in many different quality waters, in hard and soft waters, in mains water and from rain-water tanks, and in many different pipe types both old and new.
