How to deal with failing and rusted galvanized pipes
Old galvanized plumbing naturally reaches the end of its lifespan, resulting in internal rust, crumbling metal, and unexpected bursts. Dealing with this corrosion during repairs forces homeowners to face messy, extensive repiping jobs from the main line up to the fixtures, creating constant worry about future water damage.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Installing the sink for now and delaying major pipe workDid this help you?
- 2Getting bids for a full house repipe over the next 12 monthsDid this help you?
- 3Leaving the pipes alone until a leak occurs or saving up to replace them completelyDid this help you?
- 4Opening the wall to inspect the extent of the corrosion before committing to a fixDid this help you?
- 5Checking pump flow rateDid this help you?
- 6Replacing piping with copperDid this help you?
- 7Looking for manufacturer information on the pipeDid this help you?
- 8Looking into repiping the home with alternative materialsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Sadly a pipe near my water tank burst while I was at work.”source ↗
“The plumber said it’s weird the way it burst and the pipe was basically crumbling from the inside.”source ↗
“The pipe seems sketchy and I’m worried about future damage.”source ↗
“3 BOW cpvc fittings cracked in past 2 years. All on hot side. All cracks on fittings, not pipe. Horrendous water damage to home. I am shocked to be looking at repiping a high end home barely 11 years old in SW Florida.”source ↗
“Is this type of CPVC failure common or am I incredibly unlucky??”source ↗
“Lots of 40s galvanized pipes close to the end.”source ↗
“I'm replacing a rusted out cast iron sink and don't want to ignore this while I'm at it.”source ↗
“Dreading the mess more than the cost since I knew for a while about the lifespan of these pipes.”source ↗
“I have to start some bidding. Two story house with galvanized to the street.”source ↗
“I can always change that part but assume it's rusted out into the vertical part and that connection would be just as bad.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Why does old CPVC plumbing get so brittle?
- 126How to fix a leaking water pipe in a tight space
- 3Do I need a plumber for rusted water heater connections?
- 9Busted a pipe trying to fix a drain
- 46Why does my new plumbing still have bad water pressure and risky joints?
- 7Kitchen tap internal pipe disconnected with no slack