Lead pipes and freezing.

We all know that lead, if ingested, is harmful (to put it mildly).

'When I were a lad' drinking water used to come into domestic houses in lead pipes - I think I am right in saying that, certainly in the 50s, it would have been to most homes. The mains pipes were not lead, only the pipes from the mains to the house. I don't think we knew that lead was particularly bad but we used to run the water for a while first thing in the morning to get rid of the not so nice taste!

I don't know why the waste pipe from the sink or bath used to freeze regulalry back then whereas I have not known that happen for ages - maybe the pipes were more exposed, maybe the fabric of the houses was a little warmer. Trying to unblock frozen pipes was a regular winter occurrence in houses of the 50s and maybe 60s. One needed to be careful as de-freezing might reveal a burst in the pipe and get water all over the place.  Lead waste pipes used to split on the outside of the house.

Of course, as anyone under the age of 30 will tell you, it's much harder now.