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I live in a condo (40ish yo) and recently a neighbor in an adjacent building had a leak and the board suggested that everyone have a plumber come inspect their units. I just inspected and found various levels of corrosion at most joints with the included photo the worst looking of the bunch.
How concerning does this appear?
Odd that it's blue, must be something in the solder itself.
I'm pretty sure that means a leak (alternatively I'm trying to imagine how some kind low-grade current leakage would cause this only at a joint, and I can't think of any way).
So, while not critical in the moment, this isn't good. My concern is there are multiple bad solder jobs in one spot - every joint in this picture is leaking. How much did this plumber suck, or is copper the wrong material to use in your area because of minerals in the water (while I much prefer copper, there are some areas where the water is corrosive to it).
Fortunately it's not hard to fix, cut everything back, put in new connectors.
I suspect part of the original issue was so many joints that close together. You get one done, and when soldering the next one the heat weakens an existing joint. I'm sure there are guidelines for joint spacing with copper just for this reason (I'm not a plumber, but have done copper work under a plumber's guidance).
Thanks for the input. I will look at getting a professional in the near future. The city's water is pretty good, so I wouldn't expect it to be the issue, though no guarantees. I'd suspect bad solder first or the number of joints based on your response. Over 3/4+ of the joints look similar including color, though not as bad as the one in the photo.
@Godort@lemmy.ca
the color and corrosion is from the acid paste/flux used when soldering copper. whoever did the plumbing didn't wipe their joints at all after soldering. piss poor plumbing.
source: plumber.
edit- the joints look fine, although kinda hard to see. you wanna look for small damp spots/discoloration on materials under the piping and keep in mind some of it could be from condensation if that area is subject to draft. copper piping will last hella long time if installed properly and seeing how yours is supported by iron nails(suboptimal), i don't think this plumber gave a shit
Is this because the iron and the copper could react to each other? Should it be copper nails?
yeah it reacts with iron; normally all copper is to be hung with either copper plated or epoxy coated materials, and taped/covered wherever it may come in contact with iron/concrete.