Two Ways to Stop Leaks in Flexible Plumbing Supply Lines

Flexible Plumbing Supply Lines

Two basic types of flexible supply lines are available – tubing or braided hoses.  Plain and corrugated copper tubing and plastic tubing require ferrules and nuts for connections to the stop valve. The fixture ended differs for faucets or toilets.  Braided flexible supply lines – either plastic or stainless steel – have attached nuts (different for faucets or toilets) at one end and nuts for stop valves at the other.  Braided lines are the easiest to use.  Make sure you buy lines of an appropriate length.  Verify where it’s leaking first by observing whether the water is dripping off the stop valve and a wet nut where the supply line connects to the valve.  That could be a loose connection.

Try this solution:

Tip #1 Tighten the Nut

Often the solution is as simple as tightening the nut at the point where you see a leak.  Take care not to over-tighten – you can crack the nut or strip the threads.  Use only adjustable wrenches, not pipe wrenches.  If the leak persists, loosen the nuts and re-coat the threads or ferrules with the plumber’s tape or pipe joint compound.

Tip #2  Shut Off the Water and Drain the Line

If you are working with a tubing-and-ferrule connection, remove the nut and pull the line out of the valve.  Take care not to kink it.  Wrap the ferrule with plumber’s joint tape or coat it with a joint compound.  Hook it back up, tighten, and test.
If these measures fail to solve your problem quickly, it could be the fault of the old line.  Buy a new flexible line, apply joint tape or joint compound to the male threads, and screw it on.  Tighten both ends and test.

Images provided by HomeDepot.com

Published on: January 14, 2015
Updated on: March 5, 2022