Tin foil as leak repair?

Aug 6, 2011

The other day while I was showing a house I found a new use for tin foil. I have heard of tin foil art, tin foil hats, and if you live in Austin you are familiar with Freebirds World Burritos and their tin foil creations. But I never expected to see tin foil used to stop a leak under a sink.

I can understand why you would try this in a pinch. We all know how strong and leak proof tin foil can be, right? Wrapping it around a pipe just makes to much sense. Tin foil saves the day… Well maybe not.  I maybe would have tried this to, just to get though the night.  But, I would have been on the phone with the plumber first thing the next morning.  Clearly that is not the sellers plan.

Turns out that tin foil is not an approved method for stopping leaks. That was evident by all the water in the bucket below the sink. Furthermore, the mortgage company has flagged it and has requested it be replaced before closing on the house.

This just goes to show you how tight the lending market is right now. A $75 leak repair is holding up closing. Aluminum foil is just not good enough to get you a mortgage anymore.  Maybe in years past, but not anymore.  Lenders are looking for every reason not to lend.  I don’t blame them for requiring the repair, foil is not the answer here, but this is such a minor issue.

Other uses for Tin foil

Since leak stopping is out I thought I would make a list of good uses of Aluminum foil that you may not expect.  We all know that we can use it for cooking and baking, in and around food, but what else can we use it for.  If you have something to add to the list please comment below.

• Tin Foil Art from ActivityTv
• Jordana Brewster’s Aluminum foil dress
• Make an Aluminum foil boat