mywifeisworried
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I'm looking for some insight from those who are more experienced than I....My wife is freaked out.
Yesterday I replaced a 6 ft section of 3/4" copper pipe that had a pinhole leak. It is the main water line feeding my house and the section I replaced was after the shutoff valve at the foundation and before the split at the water heater. All went well....so I thought. Although I can't seem to smell it, my wife says that the water has a 'petroleum or WD-40' type smell.....I'm assuming it's a result of the flux I used when sweating the connections. I have run tons of water through the system and through every fixture in the house....but she says it's still there.
I did not use one of the newer water-soluable fluxes that are on the market, but rather a older flux that I had from a few years ago. It is a leadfree product from Rectorseal called UNIFLUX....but I don't think they make it anymore. I only used a light coating and then soldered with Oatey Safe-flo Silver lead-free solder. I believe this flux may be petroleum based, which would contribute to the smell, but I assume it is non-toxic since it was designed for use on potable water systems....as long as you don't eat a spoonful of it.
As I mentioned, I have flushed a lot of cold water through hoping to dissolve any flux that may be in the pipe....but the smell is apparently still there. Since this section of pipe is upstream from the water heater, I have no way a flushing it with hot water....which I think would dissolve it quicker.
Any ideas for flushing out the lines and eliminating the smell? Am I on the right track or have I overlooked something? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Yesterday I replaced a 6 ft section of 3/4" copper pipe that had a pinhole leak. It is the main water line feeding my house and the section I replaced was after the shutoff valve at the foundation and before the split at the water heater. All went well....so I thought. Although I can't seem to smell it, my wife says that the water has a 'petroleum or WD-40' type smell.....I'm assuming it's a result of the flux I used when sweating the connections. I have run tons of water through the system and through every fixture in the house....but she says it's still there.
I did not use one of the newer water-soluable fluxes that are on the market, but rather a older flux that I had from a few years ago. It is a leadfree product from Rectorseal called UNIFLUX....but I don't think they make it anymore. I only used a light coating and then soldered with Oatey Safe-flo Silver lead-free solder. I believe this flux may be petroleum based, which would contribute to the smell, but I assume it is non-toxic since it was designed for use on potable water systems....as long as you don't eat a spoonful of it.
As I mentioned, I have flushed a lot of cold water through hoping to dissolve any flux that may be in the pipe....but the smell is apparently still there. Since this section of pipe is upstream from the water heater, I have no way a flushing it with hot water....which I think would dissolve it quicker.
Any ideas for flushing out the lines and eliminating the smell? Am I on the right track or have I overlooked something? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
