Find your water service line
This is the main pipe that brings water from the street into your home. It's usually visible where it enters the building. It is also where you can normally see water meter and turn on/off system.
Find the Pipe
Look at the pipe between where it enters the wall and the main shutoff valve. It should be 1 inch in diameter, and have a shutoff valve that looks something like these pictures. (If you have a well, it should lead to a pressure tank, with a faucet at the base).
The scratch test
Find a spot on the pipe that's not under pressure (not near a fitting). Take the flat-head screwdriver and gently scratch the surface. Look closely at the color underneath.
What color is the freshly exposed metal?
The magnet test
Grab a refrigerator magnet (or any household magnet) and hold it firmly against the pipe. This is the test that separates lead from galvanized steel (they look nearly identical, but they behave very differently).
This is almost certainly a lead service line.
A pipe that scratches soft and silver and is not magnetic is the textbook signature of lead. The good news: you've identified it. The next 24 hours matter more than the next 24 days.
What to do
- Confirm with utility water map. Search online or give your local water utility a call.
- Stop drinking unfiltered tap water. Switch to bottled or filtered water for drinking, cooking, baby formula, and brushing teeth until you have results.
- If you must use the tap, flush first. Run cold water for 3–5 minutes after water has been sitting for more than 6 hours. Use only cold water for drinking (hot water leaches more lead).
- Get the water tested (the utility may do this for free). Pull a "first draw" sample (water that's been sitting overnight) from your kitchen tap.
You've found the problem. Let's confirm it.
Before you change a single thing, lab-verified water testing tells you exactly what's coming out of your tap (lead levels, plus the contaminants your utility isn't required to disclose). I'd love to walk you through the testing options on a quick call.
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Disclaimer: This check is an indication, not a definitive ID. Please confirm with your utility service or licensed plumber if you're unsure.
This looks like galvanized steel.
A pipe that's hard to scratch and is magnetic is galvanized iron or steel. Galvanized pipe is not lead, but it can absorb and re-release lead if it was ever downstream of a lead service line, and it corrodes from the inside over time.
What to do
- Confirm with utility water map. Search online or give your local water utility a call.
- Get the water tested (the utility may do this for free). Pull a "first draw" sample (water that's been sitting overnight) from your kitchen tap.
Galvanized doesn't mean safe.
Galvanized pipes can release absorbed lead and other metals for decades. The only way to know what's actually in your water is to test it. Let's hop on a call and figure out which testing approach makes sense for your home.
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Disclaimer: This check is an indication, not a definitive ID. Please confirm with your utility service or licensed plumber if you're unsure.
This is copper.
A pipe that scratches to a bright copper or orange color is solid copper. Copper itself isn't a lead risk, but in homes built before 1986, the solder joining copper pipes together often was. That's still worth checking.
What to do
- If your home was built before 1986 (or you're not sure), get one round of lab water testing for lead. The solder at copper joints is the most common hidden source.
- Watch for blue-green staining on fixtures or in the tub (that can indicate copper leaching, which has its own health considerations at high levels).
- If your water is on the acidic side (low pH), it accelerates copper corrosion. A water test will catch this.
The pipe is clean. The water has a story.
Copper rules out one risk, but pre-1986 solder, low pH, PFAS, chlorine byproducts, and microplastics are all worth checking. A short conversation will get you to the right testing approach.
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Disclaimer: This check is an indication, not a definitive ID. Please confirm with your utility service or licensed plumber if you're unsure.
This is plastic (PVC, PEX, or polyethylene).
A plastic service line means lead from the pipe itself is not a concern, which is good! However, plastic pipes can leach their own compounds (microplastics & VOCs). It is still worth testing the quality of your water at the tap.
What to do
- PEX and PVC can leach trace plasticizers and VOCs, especially when new or when carrying hot water. Concentrations are usually low and decline over time, but it's not zero.
- Your municipal water still has a story. Disinfection byproducts, PFAS, chlorine, nitrates, and microplastics are now what tap water testing focuses on. Service line material doesn't change any of that.
- Interior plumbing may differ. A plastic service line doesn't guarantee plastic interior pipes (older homes often have a mix).
Plastic rules out one risk. The rest is worth a look.
Service line material doesn't change what's in the water itself. PFAS, disinfection byproducts, microplastics, and the contaminants your utility doesn't have to report all still apply. Let's talk through what's worth testing in your home.
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Disclaimer: This check is an indication, not a definitive ID. Please confirm with your utility service or licensed plumber if you're unsure.
We couldn't get a clear read.
No worries. Pipes get painted, wrapped, hidden behind drywall, or replaced in sections that don't match. Here are a few things you can do.
What to do
- Call your water utility. Most utilities now maintain service-line material inventories under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule revisions. A short phone call may give you a definitive answer for free.
- Check online. Most utilities may have a "lead service line map," where you can see the type of material for your home.
- Have a licensed plumber inspect. A short visit is typically <$150 and gives you a confirmed material ID for both the service line and your interior plumbing.
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Disclaimer: This check is an indication, not a definitive ID. Please confirm with your utility service or licensed plumber if you're unsure.