craby February 1, 2012 Share February 1, 2012 Does anyone know if water changes dumped down the drain will make my cast iron sanitary pipes rust away? I've been carrying it to the curb for years & now that my set up is in the basement it's getting old carrying all those buckets up the stairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella February 1, 2012 Share February 1, 2012 I poor it down the drain.. But I rent so I could careless what it does to the pipes. Years ago I did the carry and dump, but not anymore. Im interested to hear the truth of the matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw February 1, 2012 Share February 1, 2012 I honestly don't think it will have much, if any, of an effect. Whatever salt water you pour down the drain you're goign to have a ton more fresh (or not so fresh) water going behind it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan February 1, 2012 Share February 1, 2012 (edited) We just had a drainage system installed which included an external drain in the base of the stairwell in our backyard and according my husband salt water will cause damage to the new drain. I don't know how he knows this but he's pretty liberal when it comes to garbage disposals and other things, but not this drain and salt water on a regular basis. Edited February 1, 2012 by Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 2, 2012 Share February 2, 2012 Cast iron pipe lasts for 50 years. Garbage Disposals only last for a few years after pouring hundreds of gallons of SW down the drain.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRon February 2, 2012 Share February 2, 2012 Cast iron or ductile iron? I'm not sure how much either one is affected by saltwater running through it, but they certainly have all kinds of other nasty, dirty stuff running through them when used for sanitary pipe. DIP is commonly coated in the inside with a cement-mortar lining. This lining enables it to handle the rigors of transporting potable water, sea water, non-septic gravity sewers, sewer forcemains and reclaimed water. The quote is from This Site. I don't recall if cast iron pipe was coated regularly or not. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. And I'm not! My house has a cast iron line going out to the main and I've been pumping my water changes down the drain without issue so far - only a year. I'm sure a tree root will cause a problem before my saltwater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan February 2, 2012 Share February 2, 2012 Oh we don't dump SW down the garbage disposal. Cast iron pipe lasts for 50 years. Garbage Disposals only last for a few years after pouring hundreds of gallons of SW down the drain.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef February 2, 2012 Share February 2, 2012 sewage pipes are meant to handle things alot more corrosive than saltwater.. think of all the people that pour paint thinner, paint brush cleaner and stuff down them... you should not have a problem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic February 2, 2012 Share February 2, 2012 I dump SW down the toilet, and flush afterwards (fresh water rinse cycle, lol) I think you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind February 2, 2012 Share February 2, 2012 I dump SW down the toilet, and flush afterwards (fresh water rinse cycle, lol) I think you will be fine. I too think it would be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind February 2, 2012 Share February 2, 2012 sewage pipes are meant to handle things alot more corrosive than saltwater.. think of all the people that pour paint thinner, paint brush cleaner and stuff down them... you should not have a problem... I hope no one really does that!! Most municipal systems can not process the hazardous waste so it can pass through the system unchanged and then pollute the water downstream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef February 2, 2012 Share February 2, 2012 unfortunently there ar alot of people who dont worry about the consequences... up here in WA the water we drink is from aquifers and has minimal municipal treatment... granted it takes alot for toxins to get into the aquifers but it happens ... Most of it comes from Commercial buildings but people do it sometimes without even paying attention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craby February 6, 2012 Author Share February 6, 2012 I believe I have CIP, not DIP as all of the above ground riser pipe was cracked up due to joist water damage/settlement & had to be replaced w/ PVC and it was CIP. Not sure if they would change to DIP below the slab. House built in 1948. Probably would be fine thinking that the pipe has some scum built up that protects it. I also thought of just using a garden hose to drain to my back yard, but don't because I think the salt would kill the landscaping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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