A Major Leak Can Cause Major Damage

The most urgent kind of leak is a leak on the main water supply piping in your home. That’s why it is very important to know where your main water shut off is located and how to turn it off. If you have a supply pipe leak, getting the water turned off quickly can prevent thousands of dollars worth of damage. If this is the case, consider calling a professional for drain cleaning in Bergen County. Before you do, there are some steps you can take to help mitigate the damage. Once the water is off you can begin to try to determine what the problem is. If you have an older house you may have galvanized pipe leaks. These are especially tricky because when you fix one you may cause another by disturbing the old pipe.

A fairly common cause of leaks in copper piping is a nail in the pipe. Many times these leaks will not show up for quite some time, however long it takes the nail to rust away. Always be very careful when installing baseboard or other trim. While leaks in galvanized or even copper pipes require special skills and tools, plastic piping is fairly easily repaired. You need to be sure what kind of pipe you have because different types of pipe use different glues and cements. Pay close attention to the curing times for the cement so your fresh repair doesn’t blow apart when you turn the water back on.

Some plastic pipe, like PEX, can’t be glued and must be joined using special fittings. The pros usually use barbed fittings with crimp rings and special crimping tools but there is a fairly new product that you can use called a shark bite fitting. Unlike its namesake, a plumbing shark bite type fitting is a good thing.