It is not uncommon to have leaking pipes in your house. The pipe may leak because of a hole, wearing of the joints, gaps in joints, etc. Due to certain reasons, the metal pipe may begin leaking, which results in unnecessary water wastage, damage to your house, and harmful effects on health. Because water is precious, you must make sure that you do not let water leak from your taps or pipes.
The easiest way to repair a leaking pipe is to call a plumber but if you do not want to waste money, you can do it yourself. For repairing the pipe, you must first buy metal repair putty,which will act as a metal seal and prevent water from escaping the pipe.
A patch is the temporary solution and the issue and immediately stops the pipe from leaking. Patching a leak offers you time to save money on hiring a plumber. This temporary fix provides you time to buy the parts required to replace the leaking metal pipe without worrying about water wastage and damage to your home. You can patch large holes with metal repair putty and smaller ones with pipe repair clamp.
How To Prepare To Patch?
1. First, turn off water supply to the metal pipe that is leaking at the shutoff valve. You can find these valves at pipe branch fittings. Turn on all the faucets in your home that are placed above the leaking pipe in order to eliminate remaining water from the pipe.
2. Then, wipe off the area with a clean rag. In case you see any lime scale or rust on the pipe’s exterior, scrub it off with a steel wool.
3. Lastly, inspect the leaking area. In case the joint of the pipe is leaking, fasten it using an adjustable wrench until the joint fitting is hand tight. Turn pipe’s joint fitting one-quarter turn for tightening it enough for re-forming the seal.
4. Now, using any of the methods mentioned below, seal the hole.
Water Pipe Tape
1. Roughen four-inch area on the pipe’s surface around the leaking area using a coarse file rasp. In case the area is a fissure or large crack, plug the hole in pipe using pipe bounding putty. Wear plastic or latex gloves. Take a small amount of pipe bonding putty and then press it between your palms to make a disc. Then, center this disc over the fissure or hole and press it lightly onto the pipe. Using your forefinger or thumb, smooth the edges of the putty onto the pipe and form a seal. Allow the putty to sit for thirty minutes.
2. Now, fill a tub with water. Put your gloves again. Fully immerse pipe repair tape in the tub and squeeze it thrice over a span of 20 seconds for moistening it and activating the epoxy compound in repair tape.
3. Next, center the tape over the fissure on the pipe. Start wrapping it around the pipe. Hold the repair tape’s end down against the damaged pipe and pull firmly while wrapping the tape around it. Roll it once or twice more to form half inch of thick layer of the tape on the pipe.
4. Lastly, dip your gloved hands in the tub to wet them and them press the putty that came out of the repair tape’ edges down into wrapped tape. The pipe is repaired.
Water Pipe Epoxy
1. Tear off some plumber’s epoxy that is of the same size as leaking area of pipe. Then, knead the putty in your hands to mix it into one uniform color as well as to make it pliable.
2. Put the epoxy on pipe centered over the leaking area or hole and press it down gently.
3.Now, smooth out epoxy’s edges onto the pipe surface. Then, wait for the putty to cure as per the curing time mentioned on the packaging of the epoxy.
Pipe Patch Kit
• Using a file, smooth the surface of hole on the pipe.
• Cut a one-inch square of rubber patch for pinhole leaks using a pair of scissors. In case of a large fissure or hole, cut a patch according to the size of the fissure or hole in the pipe. Make sure the patch is 1 inch extra on all sides.
• Now, center the patch over pipe’s leaking area. Attack it with hose clamps. Then, fasten the set-screws of hose clamps using a screwdriver for holding the patch in place.
• If you are using repair clam, center rubber-gasket side of clamp over the pipe’s leaking area. Tighten set-screws on clamp using a screwdriver to form a watertight seal with rubber gasket.
The Bottom Line
You can use any of the methods mentioned above to seal the hole in pipe. But make sure the product you are using does not contain harmful chemicals, especially if the leaking pipe carries drinking water.
