That time a plumber in Denver taught me about pipe dope the hard way

I was trying to fix a leaky shower valve in my rental and this crusty old plumber walks by my unit. He took one look at my teflon tape job and laughed, said I used the wrong tape for brass fittings. He handed me a can of pipe dope and showed me how to apply it in 2 minutes flat. Has anyone else had a pro just show up and call out your wrong technique mid job?

2 comments

2 Comments

joelsanchez21d ago

Actually pipe dope isn't always better, I've had it fail just as bad as tape if the threads are dirty.

theawest20d ago

Dirty threads are going to ruin your day no matter what you use. Pipe dope or tape, it's still just a sealant, not magic. I've used both for years and never had a failure that wasn't my own fault for not cleaning the threads first. Sounds like operator error more than a product issue to me.