Many of us have experienced untimely water leaks before… It’s Friday evening, after you’ve returned from work, and you head to the laundry room to get some clothes cleaned before a weekend out. Unfortunately, you find water all over the floor, and after attempting to clean it up, water continues to appear.
It’s after-hours, so most plumbers won’t be available to come out to your home tonight to fix it – what do you do? Time to take measures into your own hands. First, follow these steps to stop and assess a water leak.
Next, use the following methods to hold off a water leak for the weekend, beyond just stuffing a bucket or towels around it…
- Wrap it up. You can find small, thin pieces of rubber at the hardware store, which work great for temporarily stopping a small leak. Wrap the pipe with the rubber, and tightly seal it to the pipe with electrical tape. Add further leak control by pressurizing the rubber seal with a C-clamp.
- Make a garden hose patch. Save pieces of broken or leaky garden hose for future potential pipe leaks (of course, not the leaky parts). When a leak develops, cut a piece of the garden hose that is long enough to cover the leak, plus 2-3 inches on each end. Cut the hose lengthwise, place it over the leak, and clamp it in place with hose clamps.
- Get some plumber’s epoxy. Purchased from the hardware store, plumber’s epoxy has the consistency of putty, and can be easily molded over a small hole or crack in a pipe to stave off the leaking water. Use just enough to cover the leak.
- Plug the hole with a pencil. If the hole is small enough, you can also temporarily plug it with the graphite tip of a pencil. Put the pencil point-first into the hole, and break the tip off into the leaking spot. Finally, seal it with electrician’s tape and top it off with a bit of plumber’s epoxy to ensure no water leaks through.
If you develop a leak, contact a plumber immediately to be assured of the timeliest service. Even if you have to hold off a water leak through the weekend, it helps to get ahead of any weekend bookings to ensure you get the earliest available care. Contact Pioneer Plumbing & Heating to schedule or learn more about our plumbing services!
Featured photo source Wikipedia Commons.
