NON-TOXIC All Stainless Steel Kitchen Faucet Extender Hose Needed
December 6, 2021 3:05 AM Subscribe
So I am living in an old rented place, the kitchen faucet is chrome and is short, so if I use it as is without an extender, water splashes everywhere. I went ahead and got an extension that was advertised as stainless steel, which is good. Well, the part that attaches to the braided hose extender broke somehow with use and the inner working got exposed.
A close inspection showed some kind of white plastic contraption held together with a rusty coil and that's basically what I've been using unknowingly for maybe 4 years. Kind of horrified and don't even know the health ramifications of this. All I know is that I've been having MAJOR digestive problems for the past year. Is it due to this? IDK.
But I have to find a simple non-toxic replacement for the faucet, reliable and nothing fancy. Just something that will get the water from my pipes to the sink/utensils without splashing. Don't need anything with a spray either.
1 - where can I find one that will ship internationally?
2 - has to be reasonably priced - up to 25 dollars or less
3 - must be all stainless steel with a universal screw attachment to the faucet
And finally if anyone knows if I have been unknowingly been poisoned by ingesting cheap white plastic residue for 3 years and how to detox from that, that will be greatly appreciated.
A close inspection showed some kind of white plastic contraption held together with a rusty coil and that's basically what I've been using unknowingly for maybe 4 years. Kind of horrified and don't even know the health ramifications of this. All I know is that I've been having MAJOR digestive problems for the past year. Is it due to this? IDK.
But I have to find a simple non-toxic replacement for the faucet, reliable and nothing fancy. Just something that will get the water from my pipes to the sink/utensils without splashing. Don't need anything with a spray either.
1 - where can I find one that will ship internationally?
2 - has to be reasonably priced - up to 25 dollars or less
3 - must be all stainless steel with a universal screw attachment to the faucet
And finally if anyone knows if I have been unknowingly been poisoned by ingesting cheap white plastic residue for 3 years and how to detox from that, that will be greatly appreciated.
The white plastic is most likely PVC, which is also what the water supply lines in most modern houses are made of. It should not have any effect on you at all.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:03 AM on December 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 4:03 AM on December 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Apparently NOT so benign is PVC
posted by watercarrier at 4:07 AM on December 6, 2021
posted by watercarrier at 4:07 AM on December 6, 2021
So don't burn your kitchen down. Or leave, if it is burning down. PVC is fine to carry water. The rust is likely beneficial, though it may harbour microorganisms which are not.
posted by pompomtom at 4:12 AM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by pompomtom at 4:12 AM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Why not just replace the faucet with an entirely new one more to your liking? You will need to shut the water off (should be some shut-off valves in the cabinet under the sink) first, and will need a wrench and maybe a screwdriver. And a flashlight, to see what you’re doing in the under-sink cabinet.
posted by eviemath at 4:21 AM on December 6, 2021
posted by eviemath at 4:21 AM on December 6, 2021
I think most plumbing fixtures marketed directly to consumers tend to contain plastic, and it's very rare that they tell you exactly what's inside. You might have more luck talking to a local plumber who will 1) have access to fixtures that are only available to tradespeople and 2) know the details of construction of the ones they work with most frequently.
Also in my experience, "stainless steel" usually refers only to the *finish* - a stainless steel fixture should not be expected to be made of solid stainless steel any more than an "antique bronze" fixture should be expected to be made of solid bronze or a chrome fixture to be made of solid chrome. So I wouldn't put any stock in the "stainless steel" designation unless it comes with other guarantees.
Would love to see a photo of the faucet - any chance you could get away with just an aerator rather than an extender? Those are easy to find in all-metal configurations (though I have no idea what metals they're made of).
posted by mskyle at 4:53 AM on December 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Also in my experience, "stainless steel" usually refers only to the *finish* - a stainless steel fixture should not be expected to be made of solid stainless steel any more than an "antique bronze" fixture should be expected to be made of solid bronze or a chrome fixture to be made of solid chrome. So I wouldn't put any stock in the "stainless steel" designation unless it comes with other guarantees.
Would love to see a photo of the faucet - any chance you could get away with just an aerator rather than an extender? Those are easy to find in all-metal configurations (though I have no idea what metals they're made of).
posted by mskyle at 4:53 AM on December 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
I've been having MAJOR digestive problems for the past year. Is it due to this?
Overwhelmingly likely not.
if anyone knows if I have been unknowingly been poisoned by ingesting cheap white plastic residue for 3 years
Nylon, ABS and polypropylene are also commonly found in hose fittings. None of these plastics are organochlorines and all of them are even less likely to leach detectable levels of anything at all into the water than unplasticized PVC.
In fact such leaching as might theoretically happen would be more likely to be from the flexible hose that exists inside every steel jacketed flex connector than from the end fittings and seals. The hose polymer will probably have some kind of plasticizer in it to keep it soft enough to stay flexible. None of the fittings will incorporate plasticizer, and neither will pipework in the walls.
That said, all of the plastics used in domestic water supply systems are very very stable, chemically and physically speaking, at domestic water supply temperatures. They don't leach poisons into the water at detectable levels and they don't break up and contaminate it with microplastic particles either.
The main way people get slowly poisoned by domestic water supplies is by heavy metals, not by polymers or residual monomer leaching from polymers. Cowboy plumbers have been known to use soft (lead-based) solder to joint copper pipework instead of the recommended hard (silver-based) solder, and this can leach into water supplies under certain conditions: mainly if the water stays sitting static in the pipes for a very long time right after a pH change in the water supply has disrupted the usual protective biofilm that builds up on the inside of every pipe regardless of what it's made of.
Some places (notoriously Flint, Michigan) actually have runs of lead pipe in parts of their water supply mains, which strikes me as totally bonkers design even though the chemical symbol for lead is Pb, which is short for "plumbum", the Latin root for "plumbing". The Romans used lead for plumbing because it's super easy to work, but it has been well known to be a cumulative toxin since well before Flint was established.
The other common source of lead in domestic water supplies is as a low-level contaminant from the zinc sacrificial anodes commonly found inside the storage tanks of hot water services. So if you've been filling the kettle with hot water from the faucet to save boiling time, you'll want to either stop doing that or make sure that you don't have a hot water service with a glass-lined non-stainless steel tank because if you do, it will have a sacrificial anode in it.
If you think you might have been exposed to lead, especially to low levels for a long time, there is unfortunately no fast way to get rid of it. There are endless quack and folk remedies that purport to be able to do that, but none of them are worth a pinch of shit. The stuff binds to all your bodily tissues, and the only way it ever leaves you is via your bloodstream and kidneys.
Chelation therapy can reduce high blood lead levels after acute high-level exposure, by binding the loose metal ions up in a chemical cage that your kidneys then excrete, but it only works against what's already in the bloodstream. If you've been building up a lead load for some time via chronic low-level exposure, it's going to be in every part of you and leaching back into the bloodstream for years, and about the best you can do is be scrupulous about avoiding further exposure and just give your body the time it needs to clear it on its own.
posted by flabdablet at 5:17 AM on December 6, 2021 [11 favorites]
Overwhelmingly likely not.
if anyone knows if I have been unknowingly been poisoned by ingesting cheap white plastic residue for 3 years
Nylon, ABS and polypropylene are also commonly found in hose fittings. None of these plastics are organochlorines and all of them are even less likely to leach detectable levels of anything at all into the water than unplasticized PVC.
In fact such leaching as might theoretically happen would be more likely to be from the flexible hose that exists inside every steel jacketed flex connector than from the end fittings and seals. The hose polymer will probably have some kind of plasticizer in it to keep it soft enough to stay flexible. None of the fittings will incorporate plasticizer, and neither will pipework in the walls.
That said, all of the plastics used in domestic water supply systems are very very stable, chemically and physically speaking, at domestic water supply temperatures. They don't leach poisons into the water at detectable levels and they don't break up and contaminate it with microplastic particles either.
The main way people get slowly poisoned by domestic water supplies is by heavy metals, not by polymers or residual monomer leaching from polymers. Cowboy plumbers have been known to use soft (lead-based) solder to joint copper pipework instead of the recommended hard (silver-based) solder, and this can leach into water supplies under certain conditions: mainly if the water stays sitting static in the pipes for a very long time right after a pH change in the water supply has disrupted the usual protective biofilm that builds up on the inside of every pipe regardless of what it's made of.
Some places (notoriously Flint, Michigan) actually have runs of lead pipe in parts of their water supply mains, which strikes me as totally bonkers design even though the chemical symbol for lead is Pb, which is short for "plumbum", the Latin root for "plumbing". The Romans used lead for plumbing because it's super easy to work, but it has been well known to be a cumulative toxin since well before Flint was established.
The other common source of lead in domestic water supplies is as a low-level contaminant from the zinc sacrificial anodes commonly found inside the storage tanks of hot water services. So if you've been filling the kettle with hot water from the faucet to save boiling time, you'll want to either stop doing that or make sure that you don't have a hot water service with a glass-lined non-stainless steel tank because if you do, it will have a sacrificial anode in it.
If you think you might have been exposed to lead, especially to low levels for a long time, there is unfortunately no fast way to get rid of it. There are endless quack and folk remedies that purport to be able to do that, but none of them are worth a pinch of shit. The stuff binds to all your bodily tissues, and the only way it ever leaves you is via your bloodstream and kidneys.
Chelation therapy can reduce high blood lead levels after acute high-level exposure, by binding the loose metal ions up in a chemical cage that your kidneys then excrete, but it only works against what's already in the bloodstream. If you've been building up a lead load for some time via chronic low-level exposure, it's going to be in every part of you and leaching back into the bloodstream for years, and about the best you can do is be scrupulous about avoiding further exposure and just give your body the time it needs to clear it on its own.
posted by flabdablet at 5:17 AM on December 6, 2021 [11 favorites]
The overwhelming majority of water you drink has probably gone through substantial amounts of pvc pipe, so it's unlikely that this one bit has caused any recent/acute effects. The PVC in pipes is very far from the 80s pvc of children's toys. It's not clear that it's perfect, but it's mostly better than the alternatives, and it's so heavily used that you might as well make your peace with it. Here's a pretty balanced piece on this that I found helpful: https://wp.nyu.edu/gw/plastic-pipes-and-drinking-water/. Key quote:
We live in an ever-developing, imperfect world. Probably the safest materials for transporting (and storing) water are borosilicate (laboratory) glass, stainless steel, and then PVC (in that order). Glass is never practical for piping in a home or business, and neither is stainless steel. PVC is relatively inexpensive, will last for decades, is practically inert, and does away with the concerns of having lead in your water supply from solder joints in copper pipes. Not only that, but chances are the water pipes that lead to the building you live in are made from PVC.posted by advil at 5:18 AM on December 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
The PVC in pipes is very far from the 80s pvc of children's toys
mainly because the toys will include plasticizers to make them soft and flexible, and the pipes don't. The only place you'll commonly find water running through plasticized PVC is in garden hoses, and if you've ever drunk from a garden hose - especially one that's had water sitting in it for a while, especially if it's been in the sun - that familiar plasticky taste is from plasticizer leaching into the water. Plasticizers are also the chemicals responsible for "new car smell". And they're endocrine disruptors; we don't really know what they do to bodies or in what doses they do it, but a pretty good summary is "nothing good" and "insanely small".
chances are the water pipes that lead to the building you live in are made from PVC
In Australia we use a lot of unplasticized PVC for domestic wastewater and vent plumbing. The plastics most commonly encountered in water supply lines here are ABS and polyethylene.
posted by flabdablet at 5:27 AM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
mainly because the toys will include plasticizers to make them soft and flexible, and the pipes don't. The only place you'll commonly find water running through plasticized PVC is in garden hoses, and if you've ever drunk from a garden hose - especially one that's had water sitting in it for a while, especially if it's been in the sun - that familiar plasticky taste is from plasticizer leaching into the water. Plasticizers are also the chemicals responsible for "new car smell". And they're endocrine disruptors; we don't really know what they do to bodies or in what doses they do it, but a pretty good summary is "nothing good" and "insanely small".
chances are the water pipes that lead to the building you live in are made from PVC
In Australia we use a lot of unplasticized PVC for domestic wastewater and vent plumbing. The plastics most commonly encountered in water supply lines here are ABS and polyethylene.
posted by flabdablet at 5:27 AM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
To return to the question at hand, you will have a hard time finding an inexpensive faucet that doesn't contain plastic, and will not find any extension-sprayer faucets without plastic. Higher end units from manufacturers like Moen or Delta, sourced from a plumbing supply company (NOT Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon or the like!) will be your best bet. The plumbing supply place might be a bit surprised to see you, but there should be one in or near your town, probably in an industrial park with minimal signage.
(side-remark: does Australia really use ABS on the supply side? If so, that's contrary to IBC and kinda surprising; IBC only allows ABS on the drain/vent side since it's basically never pressure-rated.)
posted by aramaic at 8:17 AM on December 6, 2021
(side-remark: does Australia really use ABS on the supply side? If so, that's contrary to IBC and kinda surprising; IBC only allows ABS on the drain/vent side since it's basically never pressure-rated.)
posted by aramaic at 8:17 AM on December 6, 2021
does Australia really use ABS on the supply side?
Sure does (PDF):
Sure does (PDF):
ABS APPLICATIONSposted by flabdablet at 10:39 AM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Our products are widely used in a variety of applications such as:
- HVAC, chilled water and condenser
- Water reticulation
- Domestic plumbing
- Water treatment plants
- Waste water treatment and recycling plants
- Power generation plants
- Industrial plants such as electronics, food processing, chemical, paper mills, palm oils and rubber mills.
Does it have to be flexible? If not you can get a swivel attachment for the faucet and then extend it with a brass female hose end. You could then add a brass nipple to the hose adapter of whatever length you need to get the outflow below splash level.
posted by Mitheral at 3:10 PM on December 6, 2021
posted by Mitheral at 3:10 PM on December 6, 2021
« Older What is a good (the best?) Very Large Duffel Bag? | Should I be trying to get a walk-in booster jab in... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by flabdablet at 3:22 AM on December 6, 2021