How to Detect an Air Leak in a Pipe

Detecting an air leak in a pipe can be done in about 20 minutes or less depending on the size of the pipe. The easiest way to do it is to make a salve to coat the pipe with. The salve makes spotting the air leak simple.

Things You'll Need

• Mixing bowl
• 2 cups water
• 3 cups flour
• Spatula
• Food coloring (optional)
• Old newspaper
• Glove (optional)

Instructions

Making the salve

1. Mix together water and flour. Stir well until no air bubbles are left in the paste. If more paste is needed, add water and flour at a 2-3 ratio.

2. Add food coloring to mixture and stir well. This step is not necessary, but it can make spotting the leak easier, especially if the pipe is white. Again, make sure to stir until all air bubbles are out of the mixture.

3. Spread newspaper under the pipe to protect floor from drips.

4. Coat the pipe in the flour mixture until all surfaces are covered evenly. The glove is optional.

5. Study the pipe. The air leak will create a disturbance in the flour mixture. It will look like a tiny hole. If the pipe is large, do Steps 4 and 5 one section at a time.

Tips & Warnings

• If the air leak is thought to be significant, thicker paste will work. Adding more flour to the mixture makes it easier to coat the pipe. Be careful, though, not to make the paste so thick that the air leak is completely stopped up.