jacksmith7
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I had a water softener installed yesterday by a plumber who did not clean the copper pipe and fittings. When I questioned him about it, he said he didn't need to as he was using a self-cleaning flux (the brand was Hercules).
I also noticed the plumber was not heating the fittings, but pointing the flame at the base of the fittings. Obviously, this made for a messy looking joint with a lot of solder outside the fittings. He also had problems with some fittings because of water in the lines and, because he heated them for so long, the fittings and pipe are black--I'm surprised they don't leak.
Now for my immediate problem. I flushed the lines, but am still getting a bed odor from the water--it smells like hot flux. I've run many, many gallons of water through the lines and, after awhile, the odor diminishes; however, after the water sets in the pipes for awhile, the odor returns when I turn on a faucet. The hot water also has a very bad odor and that's probably due to the water heater being contaminated when we turned the cold water service back on.
My theory is the plumber used a lot of flux and, by pointing his torch flame into the fitting joint, he actually blew the flux inside the pipes. I assume this is the cause of the odor. The only thing I know to do is cut out and replace all the joints the "plumber" soldered. At least two joints look so bad, I'd be afraid to leave them even if it weren't for the odor problem. I'm finishing the basement and those pipes will be covered with drywall.
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I also noticed the plumber was not heating the fittings, but pointing the flame at the base of the fittings. Obviously, this made for a messy looking joint with a lot of solder outside the fittings. He also had problems with some fittings because of water in the lines and, because he heated them for so long, the fittings and pipe are black--I'm surprised they don't leak.
Now for my immediate problem. I flushed the lines, but am still getting a bed odor from the water--it smells like hot flux. I've run many, many gallons of water through the lines and, after awhile, the odor diminishes; however, after the water sets in the pipes for awhile, the odor returns when I turn on a faucet. The hot water also has a very bad odor and that's probably due to the water heater being contaminated when we turned the cold water service back on.
My theory is the plumber used a lot of flux and, by pointing his torch flame into the fitting joint, he actually blew the flux inside the pipes. I assume this is the cause of the odor. The only thing I know to do is cut out and replace all the joints the "plumber" soldered. At least two joints look so bad, I'd be afraid to leave them even if it weren't for the odor problem. I'm finishing the basement and those pipes will be covered with drywall.
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
