This was unexpected....

[conuly]

Our laundry sink was unbearably clogged, and then we discovered it was leaking. (And still clogged.)

Evidently somebody had known about the leak at one point because there was a bucket under the sink and duct tape all around the leaky pipe, but the situation was rapidly becoming utterly untenable. So we tentatively emptied the bucket (into the sink, reasoning most of the water would exit the building rather than draining back into the bucket) and unwound the duct tape, preparing to just putty the leak for right now and call a plumber later to do all plumbing issues at once.

There was an awful lot of duct tape. Lots and lots of really gross duct tape. Do you know why?

Oh, you'll never guess. I should just tell you.

There was no leak. Instead, the pipe is simply designed with a large - about the size of a quarter - hole at the bottom, presumably to connect to another pipe. And at some point somebody knew about this and not only put it in like that but then decided to... duct tape it. And that solution clearly worked for quite a while, because none of us had any knowledge of this and I kinda feel like we'd remember it if we'd done it ourselves.

I'm going to try to replace that pipe this week. Worse comes to worst I can't do it and we have to call a plumber and basically aren't any worse off than we are now. But I have a lot of errands to do today, including laundry, and so in the meantime we're probably going back to square one. Duct tape. It's a temporary solution.

(I suppose I ought to be able to put a cap on that hole, but I'm not sure, after a decade or so of being duct taped, that the threading will still, um, thread.)

Comments

[ex_inklessej388]

Is the hole right at the bottom of the U-joint? If so, that is supposed to be there but it should have a plug in it. Sounds like very, very lazy work on whoever last was working around that pipe. I bet the person was unclogging something from the U-joint (what the hole is there for) and then lost the cap, so rather than find a new one (really, really easy) they used duct tape. You can replaced the entire U-joint which is the most expensive option, or you can go to a hardware store and get a cap for the bottom. The threading is pretty tough so the tape shouldn't have screwed it up too badly (maybe grab some Goo Gone at said hardware store when you go to get the plug). Sometimes the plugs are different sizes, so just measure before you head out to get the right size.

[rebeccmeister]

Seems like it would make sense to get some plumber's PTFE/teflon tape to wrap around the threads, if the threads are still in reasonable shape.

And, !!!! Duct tape! Sheesh!

[ex_inklessej388]

The fact that you are flabbergasted about the duct tape and know enough to mention plumber's tape when talking about threading plugs tells me that you will be just fine solving this little household problem. Mike Holmes would be proud!

[conuly]

Useful info, thanks.

[thewayne]

It's a clean-out so if you drop a ring down the drain, the plumber has a chance of recovering it before it gets washed out to the sewer. And yes, it just has a little cap on it. It's not like it's a high-pressure line.

[steorra]

!

[conuly]

Yup.

[redsixwing]

...homeownership! *jazz hands*

[conuly]

It's common for us to attribute weird infrastructure decisions to our shitty contractor of some time back, but I think this might predate him.

[jesse_the_k]

The idea that someone would be paid to misuse duct tape is pretty horrifying. But improvised "solutions" are infinitely possible.

Good luck!

[conuly]

We can't chalk up all structural oddities to this guy, but he is the one who happily put an uninsulated pipe on an exterior wall. (The first plumber we called is the one who capped it and then failed to turn it off, so it eventually burst a second time. Plumber number two recapped it, turned it off, and transferred insulation from a pipe all the way near the water heater, where it's safe from bursting, to this little nub of a pipe on the outside wall. Let's just say there's room for failure all around in our house.)

[redsixwing]

That duct tape held up for a while. o.O

[novel_machinist]

I would laugh if I were you. I mean, not in the MOMENT, but ... wow, ducttape.

[conuly]

Oh, I did laugh. As soon as I recovered enough to speak, I mean.

[greghousesgf]

what is this, Red Green?!!
yet another reason I never want to own my own home.

[conuly]

Yup....

[malkingrey]

Oh, God. Plumbing.

I feel your pain.

[conuly]

On the plus side, we finally got that clog cleared.

[randomdreams]

As aforementioned, that hole is supposed to be plugged but removable for recovering rings dropped down the sink or cleaning out clogs.

My coworker had a house in Arizona that smelled of mildew, which is about unheard-of down there. Because he has a lot of energy, he located the mildew smell to beneath the tub area of the bathroom on the ground floor, and concluded that the most likely explanation was a leak in the drain, so he hand-dug under the side of the house slab with a shovel until he got to the location.
He found the u-bend on the bottom of the tub, separated by about a hand's-width from the drain pipe, with the intervening area bridged by many layers of duct tape, that in the 20 years since the house had been built had mostly disintegrated.
Duct tape is a good solution for problems that last a half an hour. If the problem is going to stick around longer than that, it's time to find another solution.

[archersangel]

that's a candidate for there, i fixed it.
https://failblog.cheezburger.com/thereifixedit

[conuly]

Thanks for that.

[pauamma]

Not sure whether to laugh or cry.

[conuly]

Laugh, definitely.

[archangelbeth]

OH GOSH IT LOOKS LIKE OUR HOUSE-BUILDERS WERE YOUR PLUMBERS! (Our plumbing is not so trashed, but there are many other shortcuts -- including the free-hanging sliding glass door that was held in by duct tape -- that are very similar.)

Good luck!

[conuly]

Duct tape is an affliction throughout all industries.

[archangelbeth]

Useful stuff, but it doesn't last nearly as long as it needs to, for... plumbing and such.

[mab_browne]

Oh dear. At least the 'temporary' solution had some surprising legs to it?

I am currently contemplating how to find a reliable tradie to fix some rotten boards on my wooden house. We do not do what you guys call siding over here.

[conuly]

Reliable contractors. Good luck with that.

[lusentoj]

WOW... duct tape. I mean, I KNEW people always joked about it *being the solution to everything* but what?!

(By the way, even now as an adult I can never remember about if it's "duct tape" or "duck tape"... >.>;)

[conuly]

Duck tape is the surprising original version, but duct tape is more widespread now.

[adafrog]

OMG!!

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Well, how bizarre.

Some people seem to think that duct tape is The Ultimate Solution for every problem. It's really not.

[conuly]

It worked for a damn long time in this case. A positively unreasonable length of time, really. But no. Now we're going to fix this properly. (Well, after we duct tape it long enough to do these last few loads of laundry. I really do NOT have time to head to Home Depot today, and this laundry has to be done, and I don't have time to sit at the laundromat either.)

[conuly]

Of course... "I only need to do a few loads of laundry first" is probably how this all started....

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

LOL, that's exactly what I was thinking.

[conuly]

On the plus side, now that I've cleared all that gunk out, the drain is clearing marvelously