PEX-B Staining shower blue

[Trevor Collazo]

Has anyone had or heard of blue PEX (B) leeching its color?

I replaced the cold water supply to a shower. The hot supply is still copper.
We have low pH and I'm aware of copper stains, that's why I'm replacing the pipes.

But this is a different blue stain... It doesn't come off with the vinegar solution we have successfully used in the past to get the copper stains off.

I told my wife to hold off judgement until I changed the hot. But she doesn't want red... Or purple... Stains if the blue and red PEX actually can leech color.

 

[JohnCT]

I'm not a pro, but I've never heard of PEX leaching color under any water conditions.

I also have low pH, which is why I added a calcite tank to my house. The pH is now 7.1 instead of 6.3, and the copper blue stains have not reappeared. For what it's worth, we never had much luck getting the blue copper stains off the Fiberglass enclosures using any kind of cleaner. Just had to keep working at it.

Is this problem only on that shower, or is that the only shower/tub you have in the house?

John

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Trevor Collazo]

I'm not a pro, but I've never heard of PEX leaching color under any water conditions.

I also have low pH, which is why I added a calcite tank to my house. The pH is now 7.1 instead of 6.3, and the copper blue stains have not reappeared. For what it's worth, we never had much luck getting the blue copper stains off the Fiberglass enclosures using any kind of cleaner. Just had to keep working at it.

Is this problem only on that shower, or is that the only shower/tub you have in the house?

John

We were able to remove the copper stains completely when we moved in. This is the only shower with blue PEX supply. The other shower has a copper supply and it has no stains....

 

[Jeff H Young]

more likely it has copper thats perhaps over fluxxed packed inside or something . do you have a new house? any way to know if the stain is brand new. never heard of pex bleeding. contact manufacture

 

[Trevor Collazo]

more likely it has copper thats perhaps over fluxxed packed inside or something . do you have a new house? any way to know if the stain is brand new. never heard of pex bleeding. contact manufacture

House is 30 years old. We've been in it for a year. But knowing the water acidity, I decided to change the copper out since it's only a matter of time until it leaks.

When we purchased the house there were major copper stains that we were able to complete remove.

 

[Trevor Collazo]

It is also odd that we don't see it in other fixtures, such as the sink or toilet. Toilet gets the orange iron stain over time, but never blue (or green).