When your plastic pipe is damaged, it can damage the thread easily. Therefore, it’s necessary to fix the damaged pipe before it damages the thread too and costs you extra expenses.
So how do repair damaged plastic pipe threads? Generally, there are two types of fixes you can choose from, such as temporary fixes and replacing the whole pipe. However, which fix is required depends on how seriously damaged your plastic pipe is.
Besides, if you can arrange all the necessary tools before fixing the damaged pipe, the task will become easier for you. But do you know the causes of damage, what tools you need, and how to fix the issue? Read along to find out.
What Causes Damaged Plastic Pipe Threads?
A parallel BSP thread is mainly used by plastic pipework to keep the thread’s diameter length the same. And female pipe threads are commonly used in PVC to connect to male pipe threads.
There are multiple causes behind damaged plastic pipe threads:
Tightening the Pipe Too Much
Once you’re done wrapping the tape, make sure you gently tighten the tape around the thread using pliers or a wrench. If you tighten the tape too much, it can split the plastic and damage the pipe.
Using Damaged Threads
Using damaged pipe threads won’t make a tight seal. No matter whether you be careful while wrapping the damaged thread around the pipe, you’re most likely to find leaks.
Using Wrong Thread Tape
The wrong tape for plastic pipe won’t provide you enough stickiness and will keep continuously peeling off when you’ll try to pull it tightly to create a tight seal. In that case, Teflon Pipe Tapes are excellent for wrapping pipe as they can stick to any kind of pipe surface, including plastic.
Freezing Temperatures
It’s true that a PVC pipe threader is freezing-resistant, but still, your PVC pipes can get damaged or brittle due to freezing temperature. Therefore, you need to cover your pipe with material to prevent loss of heat and damage if you belong to freezing areas.
Not Follow a Straight Line to Cut the Pipe Threads
When you try to repair damaged or old threads, the process may need some cutting. If you don’t cut the pipe straight, then the new pipe may not fit evenly and leave leaks somewhere in the joint.
Poor Installation
Using the wrong type of thread tape will lead you to leakage due to poor installation. Also, it’s necessary to make sure that all connections of threads are evenly secured and sealed tightly.
What Do You Need To Repair Damaged Plastic Pipe Threads?
Before you move forward to repair your broken threaded pipe, it’s essential to gather all the necessary equipment first. Here is the list of required tools for fixing damaged plastic pipe threads:
| Methods | Equipment | Materials |
| Silicone or rubber repair tape | Utility knife or scissors | Clean rag |
| Rubber or silicone tape | ||
| Epoxy | Plastic disposable putty knife | Clean rag |
| Two-part epoxy patch kit | ||
| Fiberglass wrap | Utility knife or scissors | Clean rag |
| Fiberglass wrap | ||
| Rubber and hose clamp | Utility knife or scissors | Clean rag |
| Sheet rubber | ||
| Screwdriver | Worm-gear hose clamps | |
| Replacing pipes and fittings | PVC tubing cutter | PVC pipe replacement and fittings |
| PVC pipe primer | ||
| PVC solvent glue with applicator |
5 Methods To Repair Damaged Plastic Pipe Threads
Once you have all the required tools for the process, you now can choose the method to fix the pipe. There are multiple ways of repairing damaged plastic pipe threads. But we have listed down the 5 most effective solutions to repair PVC with ease and efficiency.
Here’s how to repair damaged plastic pipe threads.
1. Silicone and Rubber Repair Tape
This method can be an easy solution if you’re facing minor leaks. These tapes have enough adhesives to stick securely and create a strong seal by wrapping them around the plastic pipe threads.
However, silicone and rubber repair tapes can stick directly to themselves rather than adhering to the PVC, unlike other repair tapes.
How to use silicone and rubber repair tape for damaged plastic pipe threads?
- Wrap the silicone and rubber tape around the leak.
- Cover the leak evenly with the tape.
- Ensure the tape is secure tightly before using the PVC thread.
2. Epoxy
It’s a type of viscous liquid to repair leakage in PVC and leaking threaded PVC joint. It’s very easy to use to fix the damaged PVC. Here’s how to use epoxy:
- First, clean and dry the damaged part of your plastic pipe thread. Make sure you keep water away from the damaged area.
- Mix the viscous liquid according to the manual’s instructions.
- Next, apply the solution over the leak or damaged part of PVC, then wait for at least 10 minutes.
- Once the solution has dried, open the water tap and check if there’s still any leakage or not.
3. Fiberglass Wrap
In case you are looking for a temporary solution for plastic pipe leakage, you can consider applying this repair method to slow down the damage and buy some time before you replace them.
Using the fiberglass tape is easy and durable as the water-activated resin under the tape hardens and covers the leak. Here’s how to use fiberglass wrap:
- First of all, use a damp and clean rag to clean the damaged area.
- Wrap the fiberglass wrap around the pipe thread when the pipe is still wet.
- Once you’re done wrapping, wait for 15 minutes to allow the resin to activating.
By using fiberglass resin cloth, you can create a more long-lasting repair on the plastic pipe thread leakage. Here’s how to use fiberglass resin cloth to fix damaged areas.
- Clean the leakage area using a clean rag.
- Sand the surface lightly and gently to build a strong adhesive surface.
- Now wrap the fiberglass resin cloth around the damaged thread area.
- Use a UV light or allow direct sunlight to dry and harden the resin.
4. Rubber and Hose Clamps
Just like silicone and rubber repair tape, the ribber, and hose clamps are also used for fixing small leaks in your plastic pipe thread. Here’s the fixing process of damaged thread using this method:
- Wrap the rubber tape around the affected thread area.
- Now separate the clamps. Then place the hose clamps around the damaged thread area.
- Make the rubber and hose clamps seal tight and strong.
Note: This method is also temporary as the rubber tape will eventually lose its stickiness along with the growth of leakage.
5. Replacing PVC Pipes
Not all the damage to pipes can be fixed with a simple repair. In that case, you need to look for a permanent or more strong repair or you may also need to replace the whole pipe.
Before you proceed with the replacement process, make sure you turn off the main water supply line. Here’s how to replace PVC thread.
- Use a hacksaw blade or ratchet cutter to cut about an inch on both sides of the damaged thread area.
- Take out all the remaining water inside the pipe.
- Now cut out the old damaged pipe and fit in the new pipe thread in the hole. Make sure the pipe fits the hole properly, then secure the new pipe with the existing PVC thread.
- Now use PVC primer solution outside the existing pipe and inside the new fittings.
- Again, apply glue around the exposed old pipe area and inside the new fitting.
- Next, utilize the twisting motion to insert the existing thread into the fitting with glue.
- Lastly, hold the pipe in place for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the glue to dry and stick the old existing pipe to the replacement fittings.
Things to Consider When Repairing Damaged Plastic Pipe Threads
There are some factors that you should consider when repairing plastic pipe threads. They are
Type of Pipe
When you replace the damaged area with a new piece of pipe, make sure you check what type of pipe your existing pipe is. PVC is a lightweight material, corrosion-resistant, and easy to install compared to other types of pipe materials.
There are some other characteristics that you need to ensure the capacity of handling pressure, stress, and the environment.
Type of Damage
Before you fix the damage, you should determine first what type of leakage your pipe has. For example, partial beam breakage, puncture, crack, corrosion leak, and so on. You may need to choose a different fixing method for each type of damage. That’s why it’s essential to figure out the damage condition first.
Accessibility
Sometimes the location of the damaged area can be located in some places where it can be challenging to reach with a specific method. Therefore, before you choose your repairing method, make sure you check your damaged area’s location first.
In case the damaged area is located somewhere you can’t reach, we recommend you to contact a professional instead of trying by yourself. This way, you can make your pipe more damaged than it was before.
Safety
Your own safety should be your first concern, not the pipe. Indeed you should be careful while dealing with the damaged area, but make sure you put on your safety glass and gloves before starting your work.
Also, examine your tools thoroughly once to avoid creating any unwanted situations.
Conclusion
So, you now know how to repair damaged plastic pipe threads and what tools you need to gather before trying to fix the issue. You also get to know about what causes damaged plastic pipe threads.
Try to avoid those mistakes repeating and damaging your thread pipes again. However, it may seem a bit challenging to repair the damaged pipe on your own for the first time, but it’s not an impossible task.
Make sure you follow the steps accordingly to successfully repair the plastic pipe threads.