Had a pipe burst in my basement 3 years ago because I ignored a tiny drip from a compression fitting

Last week I was helping my buddy Dave check a leak under his kitchen sink in Phoenix, and it reminded me of my own mistake. About 3 years ago I had a compression fitting on a copper line that would drip maybe once every 10 minutes. I kept putting off tightening it with a wrench because I figured it was no big deal. Then one night at 2am the whole thing let go and flooded my basement with about 2 inches of water. Took me 4 days and $300 in drywall repairs to fix it all. Has anyone else learned the hard way that a small leak always gets worse?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricianguyen18d ago

Did you really think a drip would just magically fix itself? I had a similar thing with a garden hose spigot outside my house. Dripped for months, I'd just put a bucket under it. Then one freezing night the whole thing cracked wide open and water was spraying everywhere until I could shut off the main. Had to replace the whole spigot and a section of pipe inside the wall. That little drip was a warning I ignored for way too long.

harper_singh1817d ago

I read somewhere that even a tiny leak can waste like 10,000 gallons a year... which is crazy when you think about it. Your hose spigot story reminds me of this article I saw about how freezing water expands and puts insane pressure on pipes from the inside. That bucket trick works for a while but it's really just delaying the inevitable... once that crack happens there's no stopping it.