HOME: What is the best quick repair for a drain pipe? [solved]
In particular, a cast iron drain pipe. It doesn't have to be pretty, but needs to be effective and should last until it can be fixed properly.
In the end I used Denso Tape and wrapped it tightly around the pipe - no leaks so far.
Disclaimer: it's awful stuff to work with - several pairs of disposable rubber gloves highly recommended.
Depending on how and where it broke it going to affect what you can use. I'm going to assume you're not looking for a suggestion of duct tape.
For long straight sections, where I had to cut a pipe, I've used rubber pipe connectors. You just slip it on one side of the break, align the pipes, and slip it over the break and tighten down the hose clamps.
There also exist pipe wraps that harden to do temporary repairs, that you can find in most hardware stores, but I've never used it.
I've used epoxy putty when I had a leak right at a coupling, so I wasn't able to get wrap something tightly right where it was. You just knead it together, press it into the leak, and wait for it to set up.
Temporary fix: You can tightly wrap a rubber band around the pipe. Since there is no pressure in the drain pipes, that will work just fine, unless the pipe gets clogged and filled up with sewage (and even in this case the pressures would be small enough for such a fix to work).
My parents' apartment has a cracked cast iron kitchen drainage pipe. The rubber band was placed there more than 20 years ago: still works. You shouldn't probably try to beat this record :)
See this article. For a quick temporary fix you can use a repair sleeve, or clamp.
Purchase 14" x 6' length of shower liners. It comes in 6' widths so you have to buy the 6' but it only takes 14" to wrap around the pipe. If the section of the damage is smaller than 14", then you could buy a smaller piece. At my plumbing store it is sold by the square ft. for $2. So, for the piece that I stated at the beginning, it cost me $7. Then take some roofing tar and place it in the middle of the patch where the leak is. Then use big hose clamps to make a tight seal at both ends.
How To Patch A Sewer Drain Line Cap With Epoxy Putty, A Quick Plumbing Fix
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