I am almost eighty; and, we grew up with lead paint on our cribs,
Had asbestos covering strapped on all the steam pipes in the basement,
played with mercury on pennies in chemistry class and somehow survived all
these perils.

Don't "sweat" out the pipes ( pun intended !).
wrote in message
oups.com...
In removing a gate value for the hose in my garage this morning I had
to heat one of the copper joints to remove it and I noticed how easily
the solder melted and flowed. So I wonder if there is some amount of
lead in it.

My house was built in 1953 and my guess is that this pipe joint is
original, so...

1) Did plumbing solder in 1953 contain lead?
2) Can I test some of the solder blobs easily?
3) Should I consider replacing all of the pipes in my house? (Note: I
have a small ranch house with easy access to all of the plumbing; this
would not be a difficult job for me.)

Mike