Mike Lamb Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 This is from a vacant home built in 2005. How much patina is too much? Can this be cleaned or would you recommend pipe replacement? Click to Enlarge 29.37?KB Click to Enlarge 29.08?KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 They'd probably kept some scouring powder that contained bleach under the sink. Clean 'em up with some SOS pads and they'll be fine if they store the bleach-containing stuff somewhere else. That escutcheon will probably crumble if you press it with a fingernail. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 The copper can probably be cleaned but the escutcheon and valve handle are toast. More important is to get the cleaners out of that cabinet. Marc Edit: What Mike O said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHI in AR Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 That's really heavy corrosion to be due to cleaning materials. If there's corrosion to metal elements elsewhere in the bath then I'd suspect that someone's been cooking meth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 The place has been vacant for 8 years. When homes aren't occupied all sorts of things happen that we wouldn't normally expect to see - heavy corrosion seems to be one of them for some reason. I wouldn't see it as being suspicious as all. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lamb Posted March 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Empty since this past summer I think. Built in '05. This was under a laundry sink and the only place with excessive pipe corrosion. Short sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHI in AR Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 I interpreted the post to say that the home was built in 2005, not that it had necessarily been vacant since then. And if it had been vacant that long --and thus presumably never occupied -- why would there have been cleaning supplies stored under the sink? And that amount of damage after only 8 years, even with some outgassing of chemicals? I dunno, but like the rest of you guys I've been in a few thousand homes and I've never seen damage that bad from routine cleaning supplies. In homes of any age, vacant or otherwise. Accounting for any other variables, wouldn't the cumulative effect from cleaners be that bad or worse in a 30, 40, or 50 year old (or more) occupied home? But if there's NO other significant corrosion on metallic elements in the bath I wouldn't worry about meth production. If there is unusual additional corrosion, the cleaning supplies theory gets weaker in my opinion. Any airborne chemicals coming from inside a vanity wouldn't be too likely to significantly affect other areas. If so, wouldn't a whole lot of bathrooms we see every day look pretty bad? Maybe the course I took in identifying meth labs a few years ago made me too conscious of their prevalence. But it isn't hard to realize that most meth makers don't use their own homes to make the stuff since they lose their property if they get busted. Vacant homes are frequently used as are cheap motel rooms. EDIT: I was composing my reply when Mike added the post above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericwlewis Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Being vacant and unheated I presume? Would the lack of heat and the presence of caustics cause excessive corrosion?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Being vacant and unheated I presume? Would the lack of heat and the presence of caustics cause excessive corrosion?? That question is perhaps above our pay grade. Just my suggestion. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Being up North this is probably a question that is unnecessary ... but what did the A/C coils on the EVAP unit look like and any plumbing or freon lines related to same? Like I noted ... this Q is out of the ballpark as the separate EVAP coil and condenser unit are not as common up there as they are down here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Being vacant and unheated I presume? Would the lack of heat and the presence of caustics cause excessive corrosion?? I never thought about it before now, but all the winterized dumps I've looked at over the last several years were especially funky, particularly in the cabinets. All those microclimates and successive temperature fluctuations definitely causes condensation and related funkiness. So, maybe it did make a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lamb Posted March 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 I wish I could see a study of the cost of damage caused by condensation in winterized homes vs. keeping the heat on at 50F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericwlewis Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 I wish I could see a study of the cost of damage caused by condensation in winterized homes vs. keeping the heat on at 50F. BING! I've though that for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Amaral Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Check for the Chinese drywall thing.. (Other copper items... corrosion, etc).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 I wish I could see a study of the cost of damage caused by condensation in winterized homes vs. keeping the heat on at 50F. A study would be fine, but I think it's unnecessary. Way cheaper to heat the place for a few months. You can keep anything at approximately 50deg F all winter for a few hundred bucks. The winterized messes I see will take thousands to put them back together again. Depending on some variables, even tens of thousands. I've seen some where every drywall seam let go, drywall sagged, moldy, doors popped out of square, cabinet funk, everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted March 26, 2013 Report Share Posted March 26, 2013 Check for the Chinese drywall thing.. (Other copper items... corrosion, etc).. Chinese drywall? Chicago? I didn't think it got that far north. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted March 26, 2013 Report Share Posted March 26, 2013 Nope. Didn't get here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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