Interesting you noticed the ice cube thing—I hear that a lot from customers after pipe replacements. Makes sense, though, since ice picks up whatever's in the water as it freezes. Did you find your kettle or coffee maker had less scale buildup afterward? Curious if anyone else noticed appliances lasting longer or performing better after switching plumbing materials...
Funny you mention the kettle thing—I swear my tea tastes better since we swapped out our old plumbing. Could be placebo, but hey, I'll take it. Definitely noticed less scale buildup in the kettle too, which means fewer vinegar clean-outs (thank goodness, because that smell...). Not sure about appliances lasting longer yet, but anything that cuts down on maintenance and improves taste gets my vote.
"Definitely noticed less scale buildup in the kettle too, which means fewer vinegar clean-outs (thank goodness, because that smell...)"
Haha, totally feel you on the vinegar smell—it's effective but man, it lingers forever. We had a similar issue at our place. After replacing some ancient copper pipes with newer PEX plumbing, I swear the water tastes cleaner and there's way less mineral buildup. Could be placebo like you said, but honestly, fewer kettle cleanings alone made it worth it.
One thing I'd caution though—if you're noticing a big difference in scale buildup after plumbing changes, it's probably worth double-checking your water softener or filtration setup (if you have one). Sometimes plumbing upgrades mask underlying issues temporarily. Learned that the hard way when we thought we'd solved everything by swapping pipes, only to find out months later our softener was on its last legs. Better safe than sorry...
Interesting point about the plumbing swap, but I'm not totally convinced that's the whole story. We switched to PEX last year, and honestly, the scale buildup didn't change much until we upgraded our water softener. Plumbing type can help with flow and corrosion, sure, but mineral content mostly depends on your water source and treatment. Might wanna look into that before assuming it's just the pipes...
Good call on the water softener upgrade—seen that plenty of times myself. PEX is great for corrosion resistance and easier installs, but it won't magically fix mineral buildup issues. Hardness and mineral content are mostly about your water source, like you said. I've had clients switch plumbing materials expecting miracles, only to realize later it's their untreated well water causing headaches. Always worth checking your water quality first before diving into pipe replacements... saves a lot of hassle down the road.
