Plastic pipe and expanding foam

[geraldthehamster]

Could 15mm plastic water pipe be affected by the solvent in expanding foam?

Thanks Richard

[geraldthehamster]

This pipe, in fact:

[diy-newby]

filled a hole in the bathroom where the plumber routed the bath waste through the wall. I filled the whole with expanding foam.

[Ryan]

I've used expanding foam on a few jobs in my old house and in this one. I've never had a problem with the two reacting .... but there is always a first time for everything :-) If you have a small piece of scrap pipe spray a bit of foam on it first to check.

I know it probably isn't the answer your looking for but hope it helps.

Take care, Ryan

[Stuart Noble]

I don't think it even bonds that well with plastic, let alone attack it. Certainly the bits I managed to get on a pvc window came off easily enough

[geraldthehamster]

Chemicals in polystyrene, and some polyurethane foams, can leach out the plasticiser from some plastics, making them brittle, is all I know. Whether my foam (Polyfilla expanding foam) will damage the pipe I linked to in my previous posting, I don't know.

The potential risk as I understand it is with plastic coated cables, and possibly plastic water supply pipes - Sppedfit and so on. You won't have an issue with waste pipes, or uPVC windows and doors, because they are unplasticised.

Regards Richard

[The Medway Handyman]

Chemicals in polystyrene, and some polyurethane foams, can leach out the plasticiser from some plastics, making them brittle, is all I know. Whether my foam (Polyfilla expanding foam) will damage the pipe I linked to in my previous posting, I don't know.

The potential risk as I understand it is with plastic coated cables, and possibly plastic water supply pipes - Sppedfit and so on. You won't have an issue with waste pipes, or uPVC windows and doors, because they are unplasticised.

I don't know to be honest, but if there was a problem, the packaging on the foam would be knee deep in disclaimers. Never seen a warning about it.

[geraldthehamster]

Good point. Especially as the packaging even tells you what kind of gloves to wear.

Regards Richard

[Pete Verdon]

Yes. I didn't bother during my first experience with said foam, and ended up with Vulcan ears[1] and plague-victim plastic skin. The second time, I invested in one of those disposable forensic suits and some PVC gloves. Some warnings are serious.

Pete

[1] I was filling gaps in the insulation in my shed roof, meaning that I was basically in a box with foam dripping from the ceiling. I didn't notice until it hardened that two big drips had landed on my ears.

[John Rumm]

Generally I have not had any problem with plastic pipe. The one area I did have a problem was with a flexible plastic overseal that made a joint on a (concealed) WC connector watertight. Turns out when filling a gap in a bathroom some foam expanded onto this and eat through it. Lead to a nice party trick where each time you flushed the loo water ran down the kitchen wall below! Nice.

[ARWadworth]

Phone JG and speak to a technical advisor. If they are as good as other firms they will know.#

Adam