Green stain

[Sickboy]

I have just moved into a brand new house and one of the taps has a green crystalline scum building up around it. It is a mixer tap and the problem is round the cold side. I can see that it is coming from around one of the nuts where the cold inlet is attached to the mixer chamber.

To be, green says copper oxide. What could cause this? Is there an earthing problem or could a leaking seal result in this green scum? As far as I am aware all the pipes in the house are plastic with short copper sections linking the push fit connectors to the compression fittings on the tap.

The developers (Wimpey) are trying to say it is because it is a hard water area but none of the other taps have this problem and since when has limescale been green!

 

[ChrisR]

A tiny leak's most likely. It should clean off chrome easily?

 

[Sickboy]

It does clean off pretty easily but I was concerned that if it was some kind of copper oxide then that must mean that copper is corroding somewhere. I know it will take a long time but I don't want a pipe to burst in a year or two.

Would a tiny leak cause green stuff? I thought it would just be white limescale but I'm no expert.

In any case, a brand new house should have things like this fixed by the developer.

 

[2scoops0406]

To be, green says copper oxide. Copper Carbonate, Copper I Oxide is brick read, Copper II Oxide is black

 

[2scoops0406]

To be, green says copper oxide.

Copper Carbonate, Copper I Oxide is brick read, Copper II Oxide is black.

 

[2scoops0406]

To be, green says copper oxide. Copper Carbonate, Copper I Oxide is brick read, Copper II Oxide is black

 

[2scoops0406]

As you may be able to tell my Proxy server is up and down like a wh0res drawers at the moment !! Sorry.

 

[Sickboy]

Sorry. Didn't quite understand your message. Are you saying that the green is copper carbonate not copper oxide?

I'm not going to argue with that because I was only guessing. Either way, is it likely to mean that something is corroding?

 

[2scoops0406]

Fingers crossed. It is Calcium Carbonate (limescale) mixed with Copper Carbonate. You can remove it with limelite, i.e. just fizz it away. What does it indicate. Two things.

1) The tap is leaking slightly, but all taps leak every so slightly, not visible to the naked eye, as the leak evapourates. however this leave a tiny mineral deposit behind. Could also be explained by condensation on the cold tap...

2) Does it mean something is corroding, yes, your pipes ! But don't worry, everything corrodes eventually.

All in all, sounds pretty normal to me......



Please please Mr Proxy !!

 

[felix]

Eddie is correct. That stuff is mostly lime scale but with minute traces of copper carbonate. The copper could be from the pipe but it is just as likely to be from brass. It's nothing to worry about. This kind of leak generally seals itself with limescale. On the other hand, if it was mine I would remake the joint.