Locating and Fixing Leaks

Leaking joints or leaking pipes are the common plumbing problems which you can solve yourself.

Locating the Leak

Before you start to look out for solution, first locate the leak - the source of problem. It is always the leak where you see a puddle of water or dripping off water. It may be somewhere high in the plumbing configuration. For instance leak may be present in the drainpipe of the overhead sink and you get a puddle in the basement. To locate the leak, try to hear the sound of water to reach the source. A listen device may help you here as it amplifies the sound. If the water is dripping from the ceiling or staining it, the source of leakage is above it. If you see a stained wall, then leakage is there in the section of the pipe. Sometimes it becomes difficult to trace the leak if there is no stain or dripping of water.

Fixing the Leak

After you have located the leak, turn off the water supply immediately, which is most important in case of major leakage. You can do it either at the main shut-off valve or the fixture shut-off valve. Now you may need to replace the damaged portion of the pipe. The chance is you may not be that experienced at plumbing job, so in that case, you need to call a plumber to do this. But until the pipe gets replaced, you can use temporary solution to stop small leaks. Remember, these solutions are for small leaks only.

Tighten the joint if the leak is at a joint. To temporarily stop the leakage, you can go for a pipe patch. You may purchase a patch kit for plumbing leaks from a hardware store. You can also make one at home using a piece of heavy rubber and hose clamp. You can also use a rubber pad and two plates which can be bolt together. Just place the piece of rubber over the leak in the pipe and tighten it placing metal plates over it. These metal plates compress the rubber. If the pipe is otherwise sound, this method can solve this leakage problem for long.

Another efficient but temporary solution is wrapping the waterproof tape over the leaking spot or you can close the leaking hole by rubbing the special compound. Other alternatives are inserting a self-tapping plug or applying epoxy tape. Before applying all these methods to fix the leaks, just make sure that pipe is dry.

For major leaks, only replacement of a pipe is the right solution. And it would be better if you don’t try to do it yourself.