Millions of miles of pipes are used around the world to carry drinking water. These pipes must be resistant to corrosion from water, soil chemistry, and treatment chemicals to ensure long life and sanitary delivery of drinking water.
As lead and galvanized steel fall out of favor, copper and sometimes plastics have become common materials for drinking water pipes.
But in many cases, stainless steel offers the following advantages:
Stainless steel has very good corrosion resistance. This property works well with all types of drinking water, including soft water, and is especially valuable in large buildings.
Stainless steel pipes are exceptionally strong, yet ductile.
Stainless steel pipes are not affected by high water flow rates.
Stainless steel systems offer low maintenance and other life cycle cost advantages.
In addition to bacterial control, stainless steel pipes do not require water treatment chemicals.
Stainless steel is non-toxic.
Stainless steel is made from a large amount of recycled materials and is itself 100% recyclable.