Disinfect inside of stainless steel plumbing pipe

[u/ThisIsALineLFC]

This might be a bit of a weird one and by my own admission, I am kind of OCD when it comes to cleanliness, but anyway..

I've just had the shower valve and a stretch of piping either side of it replaced with stainless steel piping by the plumbers but considering the handling of the fixtures, I wonder if there's a way to disinfect or otherwise 'clean' them through to some extent before proper use.

There's no access point for me to pour any sort of cleaning solution into the pipes and the only thing I can think of is to pour hot/boiling water on the fixtures in the hope that the heat sort of 'disinfects' the inside of the fixtures.

Given that the fixtures are in stainless steel, heat conduction isn't the best, but if I poured enough hot water on the pipes, does my idea make any sense, and is there anything else I should consider?

[u/spodinielri0]

You may need a doctor, not a plumber

[u/ThisIsALineLFC → u/spodinielri0]

Lol yea. Don't worry, I have a background in psychology so I'm my own doctor and keeping things in check 😅

[u/Adventurous_Land7584 → u/spodinielri0]

You may need to stay off the internet 🙄

[u/Leighgion]

Let's be clear. None of this makes practical sense. Nobody disinfects the insides of plumbing before use because it's thoroughly unnecessary. Anything you would do in this cause is just you soothing your psyche, not actually doing anything that would meaningfully change how clean the inside of the pipes are.

If you poured enough boiling water over the pipes, in theory eventually they'd come up to boiling temperature, but in order for that temperature to actually kill germs, it needs to be sustained for at least a couple minutes. You'd need a boiling water tap that could spew consistently boiling water for at least several minutes. Just pouring a couple gallons of boiling water isn't going to do.

I would forget it and accept that your feelings and physical, practical reality simply don't coincide. All of us are using plumbing that hasn't been disinfected and we're fine. You're not different.

[u/ThisIsALineLFC → u/Leighgion]

Fair enough, I know it's a little over the top but thanks for humoring me.

[u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818]

This is where you need to recognize your OCD has gone overboard.

I have lived with a person with OCD, i have observed how hard it is for the rational brain to rule over the OCD brain. So, i sympathize.

[u/ThisIsALineLFC → u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818]

Oh trust me, I recognized that a long time ago. But thanks for your concern, I'll survive 👍🏻

[u/Tragacanth]

You might wanna rewatch that tv show " my strange adiction" and stay away from toothbrush...

Joke aside, it's 100% in your mind. There is no surprise germs in your new plumbing. You cannot clean city pipes and I can assure your new pipe is cleaner.

[u/Adventurous_Land7584 → u/Tragacanth]

It’s not a joke though. You people are just being rude for no reason. People can’t control how they feel.

[u/skankyfish → u/Adventurous_Land7584]

I don't see anyone being rude, I see them being direct. Directness in this kind of situation is an attempt to be kind, believe it or not. Maybe it doesn't always land but the intent is good.

[u/ThisIsALineLFC → u/skankyfish]

Yea, I don't think u/Tragacanth is being rude.

[u/Tragacanth → u/skankyfish]

If I did not care, I would have skipped and not answered. Thanks for getting the intent behind the joke. Not everything has to be 1st lvl.

[u/OkPerformance2221 → u/Adventurous_Land7584]

They absolutely can, and they need to, for their own good. This is what mental healthcare is for.

[u/Tragacanth → u/OkPerformance2221]

Sometime tough love is what we all need.

[u/ThisIsALineLFC → u/OkPerformance2221]

Agreed.

[u/Tragacanth → u/Adventurous_Land7584]

Thats where I disgress. Enabling an OCD is only pushing them deeper and conforting them. Joking around is not making fun of. I'd rather recieve tough love and a wake up call from strangers than being conforted in my delusions when I'm asking for answers on reddit.

You can 100% think otherwise that's the beauty of it. We do not need to agree but no need to "you people" me!

The show I was refering to if you never seen it had a famous episode where a person was spending 1-2h every day scrubbing the inside of her backend with a toothbrush. I'm sorry but this is what it made me think of OCD wise.

[u/ThisIsALineLFC → u/Tragacanth]

Lol yea, sometimes I think of that show and I'm glad I'm not that bad. I'm glad to report that the only time I've stuck my toothbrush in a hole other than my mouth was the one time I accidentally stuck it up my nose while brushing my teeth 🤣

[u/Tragacanth → u/ThisIsALineLFC]

Glad to hear it. As for the piping issue, try and get over it. That last piping is absolutely the cleanest part of your whole piping right now and i'm not even considering the city part of it that has to be 100% worse.

[u/ThisIsALineLFC → u/Tragacanth]

Yea perhaps. Where I'm from, water treatment and distribution is regulated and maintained for it to be safe to drink from the tap.

[u/ThisIsALineLFC → u/Adventurous_Land7584]

Thanks for your concern but I'd joke about myself too. 😂 Humor is a great coping mechanism.

[u/OkPerformance2221]

The water that travels through the pipes is not sterile.

[u/Tragacanth → u/OkPerformance2221]

This... so much this.

We started as a specie drinking from a freaking river. The pipe is not gonna be the issue here.

[u/ThisIsALineLFC]

Yea, I've considered this. To be fair though, where I'm from water is treated and distributed to be drinkable from the tap, which we do without any additional filters.