How do tap water pipes stay clean for years

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I’ve been drinking tap water all my life and I have to wonder: Tap water pipes have a lifespan of 50 years, without any regular cleaning and maintenance. I have to clean my aquarium every week and even after cleaning it I wouldn’t drink from it. I know light and air play it’s role, but still, 50 years? Is the inside of the pipes really staying that clean or is it that the dirt in there doesn’t really bother us?

In: Engineering

14 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The big difference is that the water in the pipes changes. In your tank, the water sits there for a week. Okay, it moves about and gets filtered, but it’s still very much the same water. Plus, you’ve got fish there, you put food in, they poop it out. Meanwhile, in a pipe, the water is basically constantly flowing, there aren’t any fish, and nobody is feeding them. So the water is fresh, not semi-stagnant

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