Polybutylene Pipes

Polybutylene (PB) was a plastic gray or light blue colored piping manufactured between 1978 and 1995 used as piping in home plumbing systems. It was inexpensive and offered many advantages over other materials, such as flexibility, ease of installation, resistance to freezing. Pipes made from polybutylene were installed in nearly 10 million homes in the United States during that period. Despite its advantages, production was ceased in mid-1996 after numerous complaints surfaced that polybutylene pipes were rupturing and causing property damage. In the homes that still contain this material, homeowners must either pay to have the pipes replaced or risk a potentially expensive plumbing failure