@andyj ....I vaguely recall hearing at NJH ...NTM workshop that copper pipes don’t form the bio films.....Also if one has a well vs municipal water.......usually there is protection from NTM.tdrell

@andyj Supposedly, all bacteria cannot survive on copper. This can be a new topic to investigate. I have a theory that mac has become so prevelant with most plumbing going to pvc these days.. I do know that there are hospitals talking about installing copper on a lot interior surfaces like hall hand railings, door knobs, etc..to cut down on hospital borne illness.

@andyj Andy, here is the link if you are interested in getting your water tested. http://www.specialpathegenslab.com and fill out an application and a chain of command form. The cost of a mycobacterium test costs $150.00. I believe they test for a number of mac species, but I’d ask for specific ones for sure. I will look into that exactly with an e-mail to them. The woman I spoke to didn’t seem to know much about that part, she was basically a receptionist. It costs $30.00 to do an a. pseudomonas test. The cost difference is due to the fact that mycobacteriums are slow growing and they have to baby-sit that sample for weeks. Whereas pseudomonas grows faster and takes very little medium to grow it. I did more reading on pseudomonas because that is the last infection I had. It is found in water and soil, especially pond water. But, it is MOSTLY found on the surfaces of plants and sometimes on the coats of animals. I had given up digging in the garden and was mainly sticking to the pruning of our bushes. I think I will forego that also. (sad face). I was thinking that those of us with the ‘pink slime’ might want to verify that what we have is indeed Methylobactrium; because that would mean we have no others in our pipes. I will inquire to see if that one falls under the ‘mycobacterium’ umbrella or if we can have it individually tested for $30.00.