How To Repair a Leaking Pipe. All You Need To Know!

 

How To Repair a Leaking Pipe. All You Need To Know!   

 Many times, when you least expect it, on weekends or when you rest, a pipe or faucet may leak. This is very annoying, especially when you call for a handyman and he tells you that he is coming in two days. These leaks usually lead to floods that degrade the furniture, and the floor, and if you have neighbors underneath, you can affect them as well. All this leads to spending huge amounts of money to fix or compensate neighbors.

To avoid these inconveniences, just by knowing what you have to do when the leak happens, you can stop it, by various cheap and fast methods.

    How to Repair a Leaking Pipe?

What are the causes to crack the pipes?

• Decreasing the section of the pipe or even clogging them, leads to increased water pressure.
• Pipe aging weakens the structure and strength of the pipe walls.
• Accidental hitting of a pipe or faucet leads to cracking or breaking of the pipe.
• Weakening of a joiner or fitting leads to leaks, initially minor, but neglected over time, which can cause massive floods.
• The low temperatures in winter, lead to the freezing of the water in the pipes and the increase of the water volume, resulting in the pipe cracking.

    Stopping the leak by repairing pipes, taps, or joints for a short period or for a longer period.

    When you notice that you have a water pipe leak or a faucet to a fitting, the first thing you need to do is to close the faucet that supplies the water system, whether it is cold water or hot water. After closing the tap, turn on a faucet in a sink or shower to release pressure from the pipes, and after, with a cloth, wipe the place where it is leaking, clean it, and dry it, to be able to evaluate the situation. Depending on how serious the situation is, you can apply one of the two methods I recommend for short-term repair or long-term repair.

• For short-term repair, if the crack of the pipe is minor the simplest method of repairing the pipe is to use silicone or rubber adhesive tape applied very tightly around the pipe. You need to make sure, that the tape is tight and that there is no water leak chance before opening the tap.

    If the crack is a little bigger and we can't fix it with tape, I recommend using a two-component epoxy repair kit. This two-component repair kit is good to have in your home, all the time and you can buy it at any DIY store or any plumbing store. In principle, to apply this kit the pipe must be clean and dry to show no traces of water, read the instructions on the package carefully and follow them exactly. Use a pair of plastic gloves, open the repair kit packaging, open the two tubes, mix them in a special tray, provided with the repair kit, and then apply on the pipe around it, taking care to completely cover the damaged area. After the kit hardens, check for leaks, by opening the faucet. If there are no leaks then everything is ok, but if there are any leaks, you must repeat the same job.

Another method of repairing cracks in water pipes is to use the pipe repair collar which consists of two half rounds, with a rubber gasket inside, that fastens and encloses the pipe and must be tightened with the screws, after fixing around the pipe.

•    Long-term pipe crack repair (leakage) -this method is more durable and safer and consists of applying a strip of fiberglass over which the resin is applied by brushing. It should be mentioned that the tape and resin are sold together at any DIY or plumbing store. So, you need to start by cleaning the pipe or the joint very well, then apply the fiberglass tape around the pipe as tightly as possible. Open the box with the resin, after previously shaking it very well to homogenize it, and apply around the pipe over the fiberglass strip, but also over 10-15 mm along the pipe.

At a temperature of 15-20 C degrees, the drying time should be 60-90 min. After drying, the water tap can be opened.

    If these methods don't work or you notice that new cracks or leaks appear after a while, replacing the entire damaged pipe is required and this should be done by a plumber, but this means that the fault is a major one.

    Regular maintenance and inspection of the plumbing installation is the best method to prevent damage to the pipes, but after 15-20 years of use,  the plumbing installation must be replaced preventively. I hope that these tips will be useful.

    If you have any questions or would like to help with advice, feel free to leave a comment and I will answer as soon as I can. Thanks!