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Question: I recently had a kitchen backup of the drain. At first i tried to unclog myself and after when all attempts by me failed, I call the pros. This what happened to me. The plumber snaked through the pipe and all is well, but in the process he had to remove a spring plug that some other plumber left on a previous clog to insert the snake. After cleaning the pipe, he replaced what looked like to me, a black electric tape. He said it definitely wasn't that, its a new adhesive tape that plumbers can use now instead of metal plugs. So far its holding well, and was just wondering if anyone here has had a similar experience or was I conned? I never heard of this tape..but then again, I'm not in the plumbing business to know.
Answer: There is a tape, usually black, that I've used to seal pipes before. It's most definitely *not* electrical tape. It stretches to something like 3+ times its normal length, giving it a "pull" to grip the pipe -- think of it like a giant rubber band. It's not made for pressurized systems, but for drainpipes it's quite sufficient. I've used it 2 or 3 times over the years on both my own residence and a couple of my rentals with no adverse affects. Let me see if I can find a few links .... Here you go: http://www.ohtagaki.com/chopita/chopitae/package1e.html http://www.thomasregisterdirectory.com/tapes/pipe_wrap_tapes_0001395_... http://www.fernox.com/?cccpage=leak_fix NOTE: The Leak Fix tape site says for "temporary repairs", but I've had this type of material on a leaking drain pipe for about a dozen years, and it's still holding. I definitely would *not* use it on any pipes that are under any kind of pressure.
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