How to fix a leak from a metal pipe

A leak from a metal pipe for heating or water supply can be a real disaster. Puddles, flooded and swearing neighbors, damaged floors and walls … Leaks need to be eliminated urgently, and if there is neither time nor money to replace pipes, simple but quite effective methods will do.

A leak can occur for a variety of reasons: the pipe is simply worn out, rusted, the welder did not work well, the water was not drained from the system at the dacha and the pipes were frozen … In any case, you need to act as quickly as possible to prevent a communal disaster.

The easiest and fastest way to temporarily fix a leak, for example on a metal pipe thread, is to use a medical bandage soaked in water and sprinkled with salt. The bandage is moistened and wrapped tightly around the leak, each coil is sprinkled with salt. This is a temporary way! Just to hold out until the arrival of the masters and the opportunity to replace or overhaul the pipe.

The second way to eliminate the leak is also associated with the use of a medical wide bandage. It is necessary to dilute the cement to the state of gruel and soak the bandage in the solution. Then it is wrapped around the leak, tightly, in several layers. The cement will harden after a couple of hours, sealing the leak. If it has been decided not to change the pipe for now, you can clean the winding place with sandpaper and paint over. But still, this method of repair cannot be called long-term, although it is a more reliable option than a bandage with water and salt.

The third, one of the most popular options for repairing a crack in a metal pipe is using a clamp. Factory clamps are sold in different sizes, you need to choose the pipe diameter. Rubber is placed under the clamp, you can cut a piece, for example, from a bicycle tire, a rubber boot shaft, a tight work glove. A harness, rope, hose, flexible wire can replace the factory clamp.

Important! Before starting to repair a cracked metal pipe, it should be cleaned of rust and old paint, mark the place of leakage and dry it.

The fourth option is used if the water cannot be shut off, the clamp does not hold, and the cause of the leak is a fistula. In this case, you can cut a small tapered wedge out of wood and drive it into the hole. It is necessary to drive the wedges into the place of the leak very carefully, this is a temporary measure, but the owners will have the opportunity to do a thorough repair without a fountain from the pipe.

The fifth method involves the use of an adhesive or cold welding. In this case, the place of leakage must be dried, a piece of rubber, plastic, fiberglass, flexible steel of a suitable size must be cut out with a margin of two to three centimeters. The material is lubricated with an adhesive, it is better to use epoxy, or cold welding, firmly pressed against the leak. We’ll have to wait for the adhesive to set. There are varieties of ready-made cold welding of the consistency of plasticine, with this composition you can simply cover up, plug a crack or hole. But having a piece of suitable material on top won’t hurt.

As practice shows, the sixth method is the most reliable – a combination of the use of an adhesive composition and a clamp. In this case, a piece of rubber, metal, plastic, fiberglass, lubricated with cold welding or glue, is pressed against the cracked pipe with a clamp. Convenient that you do not have to hold the material while waiting for the glue to harden.

In any case, we strongly advise you to replace the emergency pipe at the earliest opportunity. A crack, a leak is a sign that engineering communications need to be thoroughly dealt with, to replace leaky pipes.