Water pipes made of PE, stainless steel or copper?

General information on water pipes

• With a probability bordering on certainty, sooner or later the water will enter your house through PE pipes, because most public utilities only use these pipes. This means that your water will always come into contact with PE.
• Some arguments for or against certain water pipe materials are more like a religious war than they are based on technical or scientific research. This also includes the claim that legionella are more likely to settle in PE pipes than in copper pipes. It is correct that these germs can settle in all pipes.

You should keep this in mind with PE pipes

• Water pipes made of PE are light, stable and resistant to corrosion. You can buy the pipes in long lengths of up to 50 m on a roll, so fewer fittings are required to connect them. So there is a lot that speaks in favor of plastic pipes. You will certainly also see it as a positive that the water flows more quietly in the pipes than in others.
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• You need to take suitable precautions for hot water pipes, as PE pipes stretch more than metal pipes. The rather high price of the connecting elements also speaks against these cables. But keep in mind that the pipe price is significantly lower and you only need a few fittings.
• So overall there is nothing that speaks against these cables, but there is also the issue of durability. This is guaranteed for 50 years. The oldest lines have been in use for 40 years and the condition suggests that they will last longer than the promised 50 years, probably 100 years. But there is neither reliable knowledge nor experience about these water pipes when they are older than 50 years.


Laying PE lines - you should pay attention to this

PE lines are quite easy to lay, but even experienced do-it-yourselfers should ...

Copper instead of PE

• Copper water pipes are considered healthy, but this is true when compared to iron or lead pipes. When you have acidic water, expect to be consuming more copper than is good. This can be a problem, especially for babies. In this context, you should also keep in mind that decalcifying tap water increases the risk of copper being released because a copper carbonate layer cannot form.
• The price of copper pipes is significantly higher than that of PE pipe due to increased copper prices and you will have many joints that need to be soldered. Laying is therefore also more expensive than PE lines.
• The durability of copper pipes has been tried and tested, there are houses with pipes that are over 100 years old and whose copper pipes do not have to be replaced. With copper you can be sure that the pipes do not have to be replaced after 50 years.

Stainless steel water pipes

• With stainless steel pipes you are always on the safe side in terms of both durability and purity of the water when you use press fittings for the connections and the Fittings be screwed.
• If you weld the pipes, there is a risk that nickel and chromium will come loose from the welds, both of which are harmful to health.
• The main disadvantage of stainless steel water pipes is clearly the price.

You should definitely pay attention to the quality of PE water pipes and only use high-quality fittings. Some of the fittings narrow the pipe diameter, which can lead to blockages.