Recently, it has been reported that most of the water pipes used in households in the country are PPR plastic pipes. PPR plastic pipes themselves are not toxic. The gathering places and bacterial growth places of secondary pollution of water quality seriously threaten human health, and even exceed the standard of bacteria using galvanized pipes. Long-term use is tantamount to chronic suicide. Is that true?

Sun Juzhi from the Nanjing Water Supply and Conservation Management Office told reporters that most of the pipes used in household water pipes in Nanjing are PE pipes, but also UPVC pipes and PPR pipes. In terms of materials, these materials are non-toxic. In terms of the smoothness of the inner surface, PE pipes, PPR pipes, etc. are much better than galvanized pipes, and they are less prone to scale formation, and can also inhibit the accumulation and breeding of bacteria to a certain extent. Therefore, it is nonsense that PPR pipes are worse than galvanized pipes. The odds of collecting bacteria are about the same for any kind of plastic tube.

Some netizens said that for qualified families, it is recommended to install plastic-clad copper pipes (slightly higher price) or copper-lined PPR pipes (moderate price), because red copper has excellent sterilization and self-cleaning functions. Sun Juzhi and water supply experts believe that there is no need for this, which does not rule out some people deliberately sensationalizing in order to promote their own pipes.

Experts believe that due to the long-distance transportation of tap water, the residual chlorine concentration at the end of the pipe network may be low, which is prone to secondary pollution, but as long as the water is boiled, it can be safely drunk.