Lead in old water pipes: how to spot and avoid it

Lead is a neurotoxin with no safe threshold for young children or pregnant women. In Belgium, the Netherlands and most of Western Europe, public mains have been lead-free since the 1970s, but interior plumbing in older homes can still contain lead pipes or solder.

How to spot it: soft grey pipes easily scratched with a coin, often in basements of pre-1970 homes.

Tips: • Flush the first minute of water in the morning (stagnant water has more lead). • Use cold water for drinking and cooking (hot dissolves more lead). • Request a lead test from your utility. • If in doubt: replace internal lead piping.

Source: EU Directive 2020/2184; WHO Lead in Drinking-Water (2022).