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.