The Pipeline: July 21, 2026
Hi there,
Welcome to this week's edition of The Pipeline. Here's what's flowing this week to keep you informed and entertained!
🔦 Fun Fact
A fixture trap seal is measured vertically from the trap's crown weir to the top of its dip, and the normal code range is only 2 to 4 inches. Too shallow and evaporation or pressure changes can break the seal; too deep and the trap becomes harder to scour clean. Those few inches are what keep sewer gas on the far side of the fixture.
😆 Laugh of the Day
Why did the plumber keep a notebook by the cleanout?
He wanted to keep a running log.
📐 Oklahoma Opens the Door to Right-Sized Water Piping
Oklahoma approved IAPMO's Water Demand Calculator as a voluntary alternative for sizing water supply piping in homes and multifamily buildings beginning September 14. The method uses modern fixture use and statistical demand instead of assumptions developed decades ago, which can reduce oversizing, material cost and hot-water wait times. Smaller, properly sized systems also reduce stagnation that can raise water-quality and Legionella risks. Oklahoma is now the 11th state to adopt the approach, even though its base plumbing code is the IPC...
🏷️ New Mexico's PFAS Rule Changes the Paperwork, Not the Clock
New Mexico's PFAS consumer-product rule took effect July 1, and it reaches some plumbing and mechanical products through their components, gaskets and sealants. Regulators simplified the proposed label to a PFAS flask symbol and dropped detailed internal parts maps for complex durable goods, but they kept the January 2027 labeling start for the first covered categories. Some exempt equipment still needs the symbol on its specification sheet and operation manual unless it receives a waiver. Installers may not own the label, but submittals and product documentation are about to matter more when equipment crosses state lines...
💵 July Price Lists Put Double-Digit Jumps on Some Plumbing Products
July brought another round of PHCP and PVF price changes, with many increases in the low single digits and selected categories climbing 10% or more. Plumbing & Mechanical lists 3% to 10% increases on selected PEX products, 10% on Moen's commercial line and 6% to 15% on selected A.Y. McDonald categories. Oatey's selected-category increase takes effect July 27, while most others were already live earlier in the month. If a quote is sitting open, checking the supplier's current sheet before ordering could be the difference between the expected margin and an expensive surprise...
We hope you enjoyed this week's edition of The Pipeline. Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, keep the pipes flowing! 🔧💧
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