You discover a leak in a PVC pipe in your home. Her reminiscence instantly snaps to a tv industrial for a versatile caulking product that claims to seal PVC pipes. A fast journey to the ironmongery store and you’ve got a twig can of Flex Seal product. Now the true check. Does the flex seal on the PVC pipe work?
Flex Seal is a household of sealing and bonding merchandise manufactured by Swift Response of Weston, Florida. The Flex Seal aerosol product is a rubberized spray coating marketed as a seal for many merchandise. In response to Swift Response, Flex Seal bonds to most supplies besides silicone.
Typically, Flex Seal can be utilized on PVC pipe as a brief restore for small leaks and cracks. Nonetheless, the momentary nature of Flex Seal’s sealing requires extra everlasting repairs in most conditions. Flex Seal shouldn’t be used as a everlasting answer to leaks in PVC pipe.
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Contents
What’s FlexSeal?
Flex Seal is a rubber based mostly seal coating materials. The corporate Swift Response states in its commercial
Flex Seal can be utilized on virtually any floor: wooden, metallic, tile, concrete, masonry, cloth, glass, plastic, aluminum, porcelain, drywall, rubber, cement and vinyl.
The rubberized gasket materials is sprayed onto a floor as a thick liquid. The thick liquid seeps into cracks. The rubberized sealant hardens on contact with air to kind a rubberized floor that’s waterproof. Theoretically, as soon as totally cured, this seal turns into waterproof and virtually hermetic.
Within the advert, the producer claims that Flex Seal can cease leaks in plumbing, restore broken pots and ceramic dishes, and even waterproof a ship. To a sure extent, these claims are true, however the underlying issues are sometimes not described.
The claims and the info
The Flex Seal adverts are full of examples of how Flex Seal is used. These shows comprise a ship with a display screen window inserted within the ground. The display screen is handled with Flex Seal and the boat seems floating with one man within the boat and no leaks. Different examples present pipes with totally different sized holes being repaired with versatile gaskets, together with pipes below stress.
Many information reporters and testing labs have performed related experiments with shocking outcomes.
The boat check
Shopper Stories, a number one shopper product testing firm, replicated a number of Flex Seal adverts. One such experiment was the boat with a sieve within the backside. Shopper Stories constructed a scale mannequin boat and put in a display screen backside within the boat. The display screen has been handled with Flex Seal. Shopper experiences discovered that the dimensions mannequin boat truly floated.
Nonetheless, the boat was a small-scale mannequin. It wasn’t large enough to check with a human occupant. Different Shopper Stories replications haven’t been as profitable. Essentially the most hanging instance was the leaky pipe check.
Leaking pipes
Shopper Stories drilled holes of various sizes in a copper tube after which handled the tube with Flex Seal. A number of coats of Flex Seal had been required to fill the bigger holes within the copper tubing. When pressurized water was launched, the bigger holes blew the sealant out of the pipe.
The Flex Seal managed to cease leaks within the tiniest of holes however was completely insufficient to cease the pressurized water. Clearly, Flex Seal won’t present a steady restore of leaks from cracks or holes bigger than pin measurement.
cracks and openings
A number of investigative reporters have used Flex Seal to cease leaks in cracked pipes, gutter seams, and even on cracked terra cotta planters. These exams met with blended outcomes, totally on the unfavourable facet.
Sealing cracks on PVC pipes appeared to offer the most effective outcomes. Small tears don’t topic the Flex Seal to the identical stresses as bigger and wider openings. Cuts or breaks within the PVC pipe normally did not maintain up properly throughout testing.
Disconnected gutter seams did not fare significantly better. The liquid sprayed rubber sealant merely ran via the seam and supplied no barrier to leaks. If the hole is quite a lot of millimeters large, the spray coating won’t be able to fill the opening earlier than seeping via.
So how do I cease a leak in a PVC pipe?
Flex Seal can briefly cease a leak in a PVC pipe and offer you time to make a extra everlasting restore. It is best to by no means consider a Flex Seal restore as something aside from a stopgap measure.
Typically, the one technique to completely repair a PVC pipe is to chop off the leaking or cracked part and substitute it with a brand new piece of pipe. Repairing PVC pipes isn’t difficult and doesn’t require particular instruments. Virtually each home-owner can repair a damaged or cracked PVC pipe. Comply with these steps to restore cracked or damaged PVC pipe.
Step 1: What You Want
Earlier than starting the restore, collect the supplies you will have to switch the leaking part of PVC pipe. This could embrace:
- Sufficient PVC pipe and the suitable fittings to copy the prevailing PVC pipe run
- A pair of PVC pipe cutters
- PVC primer and solvent cement
- A tape measure and markers
- eye safety
Step 2: Minimize away the broken part of PVC pipe
Use the PVC pipe cutters to take away the broken part of pipe and any fittings. Hold the broken part of pipe for reference.
Step 3: Assemble a Substitute Part of PVC Pipe
Construct a alternative part from the previous part of PVC pipe. Attempt to make the alternative as near the unique as doable. You’ll insert the brand new part into the piping with couplers on the ends. Dry all the things earlier than making use of a primer or solvent cement.
Step 4: Glue the items collectively
Apply a PVC primer to the pipe and fittings. Permit the primer to dry earlier than making use of the solvent cement. Then apply solvent cement to every half as you be a part of them. Do not cement all of the elements after which put them collectively.
Step 5: Permit the solvent cement joints to correctly treatment
Permit time for the cement to set and harden correctly. It is best to wait at the least half-hour earlier than making use of stress to the pipes. If you repressurize the pipe, test fastidiously for leaks.
Do you want a restore or alternative of taps, fittings or pipes?
Obtain free, no-obligation quotes from skilled contractors close to you.
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Is Flex Seal a viable choice for PVC pipe leaks?
If the leak in your PVC pipe is quite a lot of drops, Flex Seal most likely is not the answer to your drawback. Leaks bigger than the dimensions of a pinhole will seemingly proceed to leak after the Flex Seal is put in. Flex Seal can turn out to be useful in an emergency, however all the time make a everlasting repair to a leaking PVC pipe.