Lead in Your Tap Water: How to Check and Fix It

You cannot see it, taste it, or smell it. That is what makes lead in drinking water so unsettling: the water coming out of your kitchen tap can look perfectly clear and still carry a toxin that is especially harmful to children.

Most American tap water is safe, and public systems are tested regularly. But lead usually does not come from the treatment plant. It leaches in as water travels through old pipes and plumbing in homes, schools, and apartment buildings. If your home was built before 1986, it is worth checking. The test is simple, and the fixes are usually straightforward.

Where lead in water comes from

Lead gets into drinking water mainly through corrosion, when water sits in or passes through lead-containing plumbing and slowly dissolves tiny amounts of the metal.

The main sources are:

• Lead service lines. These are the pipes connecting a home to the water main under the street. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates about 9 million lead service lines remain in the country.
• Lead solder. Before 1986, plumbers commonly joined copper pipes with lead solder. Homes built before then are the most likely to have it.
• Brass fixtures and fittings. Older faucets, valves, and fittings can contain lead. Federal law tightened the limit on lead in plumbing fixtures in 2014, but older fixtures are still in use.
• Galvanized pipes. Old galvanized steel pipes can trap lead particles that later flake off into the water.

Water that sits in pipes for hours, such as overnight, picks up more lead than water that has been flowing. That is why the first glass in the morning matters most.

Who is most at risk

Lead is a concern for everyone, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is clear that there is no safe blood lead level in children. Young children absorb lead more easily than adults, and even low levels can affect brain development, learning, and behavior. Pregnant people are also a priority group, because lead can pass to a developing baby.

Adults are not immune either. Long-term exposure has been linked to higher blood pressure, kidney problems, and reproductive issues. Older homes, apartment buildings, and schools face the highest risk.

How to check your home

You do not need to tear open a wall to get a first answer. Start with these steps:

1. Ask your water utility

Every community water system publishes an annual water quality report, and utilities have built inventories of their service lines. Call your utility or check its website and ask: Is my service line made of lead, and has lead been found in my area? Renters should ask their landlord the same question in writing.

2. Look at the pipe where it enters your home

Find where the water line enters your house, usually in the basement or near the meter. A lead pipe is dull gray, soft enough to scratch with a coin, and a magnet will not stick to it. Copper is reddish-brown; plastic is usually white, blue, or black. If unsure, photograph it and show your utility or a plumber.

3. Test the water properly

Home test strips sold online are not reliable at the low levels that matter. The EPA recommends a state-certified laboratory; your utility or state drinking water office can point you to one, and many offer low-cost or free kits. A typical test costs roughly $20 to $100.

Follow the kit instructions exactly. Most labs ask for a "first-draw" sample: water that sat in the pipes at least 6 hours, collected before you run any water that morning. That shows the worst case. A second sample after flushing can pinpoint whether lead comes from the service line or indoor plumbing.

What the results mean

In the United States, results are reported in parts per billion (ppb). The EPA's action level for lead in public water systems is 15 ppb: if more than 10 percent of sampled homes in a system exceed that level, the utility must take corrective action. In 2024, the EPA finalized a rule requiring most lead service lines nationwide to be replaced within 10 years.

But the action level is a regulatory trigger, not a safety threshold. The EPA's goal is zero, and the CDC says no level is safe for children. Do not treat 14 ppb as "fine" if a toddler lives in the house; any detectable lead is a reason to reduce exposure.

If your result is high, contact your water utility and ask your pediatrician about blood lead testing. The CDC recommends testing children at 12 and 24 months in higher-risk situations.

Simple ways to cut your exposure today

While you wait for test results or a pipe replacement, these habits lower lead exposure right away:

• Use cold water for drinking and cooking. Hot water dissolves more lead. Never use hot tap water to mix baby formula or cook.
• Flush the tap. If water sat unused 6 hours or more, run the cold tap 30 seconds to 2 minutes before drinking or cooking.
• Do not boil water to remove lead. Boiling kills germs, but it does not remove lead. In fact, it can slightly concentrate it as water evaporates.
• Clean faucet aerators regularly. Lead particles can collect in the small screens at the tip of faucets. Unscrew them every few months, rinse out debris, and screw them back on.
• Consider a certified filter. Choose a filter certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for lead removal, and replace the cartridge on schedule; an expired cartridge may stop working. Certified pitcher and faucet-mounted filters are widely sold in American stores.

These steps help, but they do not replace a lead service line or lead plumbing. Ask your utility about replacement programs; many cities offer free or subsidized replacement.

If you rent

Renters have less control, but still have options. Ask your landlord in writing whether the building has lead service lines or lead plumbing, and request its water quality report. If a test shows lead, share the result with your landlord and local health department; some cities require landlords to disclose known lead hazards. A certified filter and flushing the tap are steps you can take immediately.

The bottom line

Lead in tap water is solvable, but only if you look for it. A call to your utility, a look at the pipe entering your home, and a certified lab test tell you where you stand. If lead shows up, cold water, flushing, and a certified filter cut exposure right away, and replacing old pipes removes the source for good.

Clear water is not a guarantee, but a tested tap is. For homes with young children, that test is one of the cheapest health checks you can do.