FloodSax being used to soak up leaks from a shower that were in danger of damaging the kitchen below A FloodSax beneath this ‘spaghetti junction’ of plumbing underneath a sink meant plumber James Lucks could get his hands in to sort out a water problem Water leaked from this pipe onto the FloodSax as it was impossible to get a tight seal on the radiator

FloodSax prevent expensive water damage from leaking shower

A plumber has used super absorbent FloodSax to save a house from water damage after an upstairs shower began to leak.

James Lucks, owner of Lux Plumbing and Heating in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, was called to a house in the Lindley area of the town.

Grout on the shower was starting to crumble which meant water was seeping down the back of the shower and then into the kitchen below.

James said: “This can happen quite a lot in showers but we are due to pull the shower and bathroom suite out and replace it with a new one soon anyway.

“Once we got underneath the shower we could see just where the problem was so have popped three FloodSax beneath it which will soak up all the drips until we replace the shower.

“It’s amazing how much water FloodSax can absorb and retain. This temporary fix could last up to three months.”

FloodSax are best known as alternative sandbags and the special gelling polymer inside them absorbs 20 litres of water to become instant sandbags in a few minutes. They then weigh around 20kg and are effective at keeping floodwater out of homes and businesses, saving a fortune in damage.

But they are a multi-purpose flood prevention device. In their dry state they are very flat with a large surface area and so an increasing number of people are now using them indoors to soak up drips, spills and leaks, often in hard-to-reach places such as under floorboards, radiators and boilers.

It means they are prepared for any flooding emergency day or night and FloodSax are white so the watermarks on them will show just where the leak is landing.

This isn’t the first time James has used FloodSax inside to deal with plumbing problems.

He said: “At another house I was draining a central heating system down but the radiator I needed to use to fix the hose to the outside was old and had been painted several times.

“Old paint and debris meant it was impossible to get a complete seal so some of the water was going to escape and run on the outside of the hose and across the floor. A FloodSax popped beneath the hose meant all the water was captured and the floor remained dry.

“There is absolutely no way we could have got a bucket under that so a FloodSax was the only way.”

Another of James’ plumbing challenges was to explore a problem with water in pipework beneath a sink to see why the water was being restricted.

It was a bit like the spaghetti junction of plumbing in there with little room for James to get his hands in to unfasten the pipework. When he put his smallest drip tray in it restricted his movement so he brought it back out and replaced it with a FloodSax.

James explained: “The taps and water were turned off but there is always some water in the pipework and the FloodSax quickly absorbed it all. The FloodSax is completely flat in its dry state which gave me plenty of room to get in and get the job done.”

James also had to fix a boiler that needed a new part but in the meantime continued to drip.

So he popped a FloodSax beneath the combi boiler which easily soaked up the water for a couple of days until the replacement part arrived.

James said: “It gave the customer complete peace of mind. The FloodSax are quite large so can easily deal with the drips no matter where they were falling from the boiler and they can even be wrapped around pipes.

“I reckon around 3 litres leaked from the boiler and the FloodSax easily dealt with that amount of water and could have absorbed far more.”

FloodSax come in handy-sized packs of five so are very space-saving to store on vans and carry into homes and businesses where plumbers are working.

Plumbers and anyone else wanting more information can contact FloodSax by email at info@edslimited.co.uk, phone 01484 641009 or visit the website at www.floodsax.co.uk