Non-PTFE Valves to Avoid Teflon in Water
ek728
| Posted in Green Products and Materials on
Hi,
I’m replacing some of the old plumbing valves in our house and noticed most, if not all, the ball valves at my plumbing supplier have teflon/ptfe seats.
Does anyone know if there are non-ptfe valves produced or other valve options people have used if they want to avoid teflon in the water?
Thanks in advance!
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Replies
ek728,
There is no way the amount of teflon used in ball valves would be detectable in your water supply, or possible of causing any problems. It is inert unless heated.
I think the only option to avoid Teflon would be to use the old school, rubber seal, screw type valves. This would be a bad choice. There is nothing scary about Teflon in this application.
Thanks both - I figured as much but curious if there's anything in the market for residential plumbing application. I've seen non-PTFE thread sealant so wasn't sure if there was something similar for valves.
ek728,
I didn't mean to downplay the potential problems of PTFE contamination, I just don't think it's something to worry about with small ball-valves.
Teflon is completely inert until heated WAY beyond boiling. You don't need to worry about it leaching into the water. They use teflon in implantable medical devices because the body can't react with it. You could actually eat a piece of teflon and it will go right through your entire digestive tract without any physical or chemical changes at all -- nothing in your body can react with it. It is a VERY stable material.
Regarding thread sealants, it would be the liquid part that could get out into the water (potentially), not the solid PTFE teflon part. In a valve, you have solid teflon that won't have that issue.
If you really want to avoid teflon seals, you can get EPDM and Viton seals. Viton is another fluoropolymer though, so if that's your concern then it might not really be any different for you compared to teflon. EPDM is less long-term stable, and more likely to degrade with time. Teflon and Viton are usually considered the "better" materials for these purposes.
Bill