I just purchased a house that was about 2 feet under water about a year ago from a hurricane. The copper water lines are green, and I was wondering if the salt water that was sitting in the house will make the water lines strart pitting or leak later down the road, or should I just clean them and not worry about it?
I would clean it with clean water , but I would not scrub off that green coating. Like Will said, it is a protective oxide coating and it prevents the copper from oxidizing further. If you remove that coating, a new one will just occur, so your pipes will be very slightly thinner after forming the new oxide coating
The oxidation of copper is far less destructive than the oxidation of steel or iron. In most cases, the layer of cupric oxide acts as a protective barrier, preventing further oxidation of the unexposed copper. So, I wouldnt worry about it as long as the pipes arent already leaking. Im not sure if you should go about cleaning the layer off because then the copper that has not oxidized will be vulnerable. Something you should worry about are the steel hangers holding the pipes up. Those will rust to pieces and then the pipes will be unsupported and thus more likely to bend or break under their own weight.
