We use pipes in our homes for so many things. Pipes bring up the potable water which is used for drinking, cleaning, washing. They also carry away the wastes etc. However, there can be times when they stop working. Below area few steps that one must follow in order to deal with leaky and frozen pipes.
Turning off the main water supply is the very thing that you should do before starting with any repair work.
Leaks are the most common plumbing issues faced at home and are sometimes very simple to fix. Simply re tightening the nut can solve this problem. However make sure that you do not over tight it as it can cause problems.
If re tightening the nut does not work, open up the fitting, cover the leak area with some tape and then reassemble the fitting. This is another temporary and a fast solution to the problem.
Use a blow lamp or a hair dryer for removing moisture from soldered joints after draining the pipe. Next put in some self cleaning flux into the dried pipe joint. You can then melt the flux by reheating the joint, and use the flux to seal the leaking joint. You can use a sealant such as epoxy resin, silicon paste etc. to temporarily stop the leak in a pipe.
Besides leaky pipes, frozen pipes are also one of the common plumbing issue faced at homes in cold regions. The best way is to keep the water warm and you can easily achieve this using heaters or even high watt bulbs.
Another thing that you can try out is, keep the taps slightly open. This continuous dripping of water will keep the pipes from freezing. Insulate the pipes that are installed on the exterior walls. You can use heat tape an d fibre glass for this purpose.
Lastly, if you are somehow unable to handle the situation, be it a leaky pipe or a frozen one, call a professional plumber to get the issue fixed.
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