- 05/12/2009
- MIC: What It Is and How to Treat It
For decades, the fire sprinkler industry has grown accustom to seeing various forms of corrosion in their fire sprinkler systems. Recently, more attention has been given to a unique type of corrosion which has become more prevalent and is causing damage to sprinkler systems at alarming rates and costing business owners significant amounts of money.
MIC is the industry term for microbiologically influenced corrosion. MIC inside of sprinkler pipe is caused by several different types of microorganisms that combine with other elements present in sprinkler pipe to react to form tubercles and pits inside of sprinkler pipe. These tubercles can grow to alarming sizes, and in some cases even obstructing entire pipes. They create pinhole leaks and slime/sludge. The slime/sludge can restrict the flow of water in the sp...