Total plumbing non-expert. Noticed copper pipe in laundry room had a slow drip. Two places with slight rust (greenish/blue). Sealed both spots with self-fusing silicone tape. Drip moved to area outside the tape. Taped that area. You guessed it - drip moved to area next to the tape. Help?

Cut out the leaky sections and replace them with new pipe.

While cutting out the leaky sections is the best long term repair, you can use these clamps as a short term repair
[www.plumbingsupply.com]

Thanks. I'll check out the clamps. About replacing the pipe two questions: 1) as the leak seems to move I'm not sure what secton to replace and 2) what is the best method for replacing a section of pipe for a pure plumbing novice. Thanks very, very much.



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If you clean and dry the pipe you will be able to see exactly where the leak is.

If you do not have soldering skills, you can still replace the leaking section using compression fittings. You can also use Sharkbite fittings but there is a risk of them blowing off.

Thanks George 7941. I did try to clean and dry the pipe. It's a little awkward as it's up in an unfinished ceiling. I assumed that the leak was where the rust was but that's apparently not right. I'll try again with a flashlight. I'll look into compression fittings as well. Should I be concerned that once a copper pipe starts to leak it's going to leak in other spots?

You might even have to sand the pipe to clean it up well enough to pinpoint the leak.

If it is leaking from just one spot then just repair that one spot. If it is leaking at multiple locations then a wiser course of action might be to replace the entire pipe.

Thanks very much for your help.



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Hi i woul suggest using sharkbit fitting if you have a problem with soldering