This $7 Epoxy Putty Saved My House From Thousands of Dollars in Water Damage.
Ever since our house flooded in the middle of the night (thankfully before we fell asleep), my wife and I have been diligently installing leak detectors throughout the house to get important alerts the moment something leaks or becomes clogged.
Last night, while the dishwasher was running, the alarm under the kitchen sink went off—and, sure enough, water started pouring out of the drain. Luckily, I managed to turn off the water and clean everything up before it completely ruined my cabinets and floor. I started investigating the problem, and within about three seconds, it became obvious: there was a huge gap in my sink drain.
It was simply unbelievable—a piece of the pipe had simply fallen off, and what remained was as brittle as tissue paper. I called several plumbers, but no one was able to come to my home for several days (plumbers have a very narrow definition of the word “emergency”). I faced the prospect of not being able to use my kitchen sink or dishwasher for some time, or risking further damage to my home. But I had another option: a quick fix using epoxy putty.
Epoxy putty is a simple and waterproof solution for stopping leaks.
Epoxy putties work in much the same way: they contain a resin and a hardener, and when these clay-like materials are mixed, a rapid chemical reaction occurs, causing them to quickly harden into whatever shape you give them. There are several main brands to choose from, including JB WaterWeld , PC-Plumbing Epoxy Putty , Oatey Stick Fix-It, and Loctite Epoxy Putty . I just happened to have WaterWeld on hand, so I used it to save my kitchen, but any of these products would probably work just as well.
How to quickly seal a leak with epoxy putty
The process is quite simple: first, pinch off as much putty as you think you’ll need (wear gloves—it can irritate your skin). Mix the material, mixing the resin and hardener until it reaches a uniform color:
Now apply the putty to the leak. In my case, I used almost the entire package to seal a huge hole in my kitchen drain, as you can see in the photo at the top of this article.
Different products have different working and curing times. WaterWeld sets in about 25 minutes, so you need to work relatively quickly. Fortunately, temporary plumbing repairs don’t have to be perfect. I simply applied it to the drain, pressed it into place, and sanded the edges to create a seal. It’s important to note that epoxy fillers like this are designed for low-pressure repairs; while they can likely seal microscopic leaks in high-pressure pipes, a repair of this size wouldn’t work under high water pressure.
WaterWeld takes about an hour to set, so after waiting, I ran the water in the sink for a while to test its effectiveness—and not a drop leaked. I then ran the dishwasher with the leak detector turned on, and there were no problems. The caulk repair lasted three days until the plumber arrived (and, to top it all off, he wasn’t even impressed with my ingenious temporary solution). Meanwhile, we were able to use the kitchen as usual without risking further water damage. For a product that costs about $7, that’s not bad.