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The 5 Best Plumber’s Putty Alternatives: Ultimate Guide

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Plumber’s putty is a clay-like substance that applies to the faucets and drains to ensure that there is no leakage. It provides a watertight seal when you apply it under the flange to stop the water from trickling down.

Since a plumber’s putty comes to mind for creating a seal to stop water from seeping through, you should know that it isn’t the only solution out there.

There are several plumber’s putty alternatives available on the market that could turn things around for your plumbing business. It’s not wise to settle for a single solution and rule out every other option on the table.

Plumbing is a professional job that requires expertise, experience, and efficiency to solve the problem. Your client’s new kitchen might be on the line, so you better come up with a long-lasting solution.


5 Best Plumber’s Putty Alternatives

Let’s dive deep into the best plumber’s putty alternatives:

1. Silicone Caulk

Silicone Caulk is a semi-transparent solution used to fill up the sealing gaps or cracks between two surfaces. It’s 100% waterproof and doesn’t turn pale over time. It works best on windows, doors, kitchen, bath, gutters, and automobiles.

Silicone caulk is a waterproof sealant that makes a plumber’s job quite easier because once it is applied, the surface is ready for water exposure in about 30 minutes. Furthermore, the Silicone Caulk won’t turn yellow, shrink or crack in any type of weather condition.

Read more: Plumber’s putty vs silicone

2. Adhesive

The adhesive is a white sealant compatible with plastic, metal, rubber, and porcelain. It comes in a 3.7 fluid ounces tube and is manufactured by Amazing GOOP.

Furthermore, the adhesive sealant withstands heat up to 150f/66c as well as suitable to use on wearable items. It could be applied on the submersible items but make sure it dries out before the submersion. Moreover, this sealant doesn’t easily break in cold water.

3. Aquarium Putty

Aquarium putty is an underwater putty developed for fixing concrete, fiberglass, metal, PVC, plastic, and glass materials. The Aquarium putty is effective in both underwater and normal conditions and can be used on both wet and dry surfaces.

Furthermore, there is no need to remove oxygen from the water to fix the underwater structure. Additionally, this putty eliminates the need to drill rocks and use acrylic rods to help support the weight, which is a huge perk. Lastly, it’s lab-tested and proven completely safe for aquatic life.

4. Terrarium Putty

The terrarium putty might not be the most popular sealant, but it does the job. However, you could find it off Amazon, but a lot of people make their DIY terrarium putty.

All you need is clay-based chemical-free cat litter, soil, and water. Start with pouring chemical-free cat litter into a bowl, add a handful of soil, and then mix them up real nice. Add a little bit of water afterward to moist the soil and cat litter mixture.

You’re almost done with preparing your terrarium putty. If you aren’t sure about any of the steps, watch this video for more clarification.

5. Plumber’s Dope

Have you ever heard of plumber’s dope? It’s is a type of sealant widely used in plumbing to help strengthen the seal- also known as pipe dope. It’s a compound used in joining pipes and is usually packaged in small jars. The plumber’s dope compound looks like mashed potatoes from a consistency standpoint.

The plumber’s dope contains several ingredients such as kaolin clay, vegetable oil, rosin, and ethanol, and a pipe joint compound that provides both lubrication and a strong sealant.

Read more: Plumber’s dope vs putty


Frequently Asked Questions About Plumber’s Putty Alternatives

1. Is plumber’s putty necessary?

Plumber’s putty is something that most plumbers get their hands on whenever they’re fixing a pipe or a joint. However, that’s not the only sealant out there. We just shared five plumbers’ putty alternatives that are available out there.

2. Can I use Teflon tape instead of plumber’s putty?

The Teflon tape is typically used as a sealant for installing kitchen and bathroom fittings. However, it’s not ideal for use in PVC fittings as it doesn’t guarantee a leak-free connection. Therefore, it’s safe to say that Teflon tape shouldn’t be used as a replacement for plumber’s putty.

Read more: Plumber’s putty vs teflon tape

3. Can you use Play-Doh as plumber’s putty?

It’s not a great idea to use play-doh as a plumber’s putty. The reason why you shouldn’t use play-do instead of plumber’s putty is that plumber’s putty has greasy ingredients that resist water penetration. On the other hand, the play-doh is somewhat a mixture of flour paste and water. It won’t be long before the play-doh breaks down whenever pressure is applied to the area.

4. Why can’t you use plumber’s putty on plastic?

Plumber’s putty will attack and break down the materials in plastic. Furthermore, the expansion of plastic could make the sealant-like plumber’s putty difficult to get along, especially in the hot water fittings.


The Final Words

Plumbing is a professional job, and usually, people don’t want to mess with the water supply or sanitary pipelines.

The reason is that it’s not worth putting your hands into something you know nothing about. And, you’ll be better off if you let the professional plumber do the job.

Plumber’s putty is quite a popular sealant, but it doesn’t work in every case. Therefore, we decided to put some light on the plumber’s putty alternatives that come in handy where the plumber’s putty doesn’t do the job.

If you have gone through this piece of content, you’d surely know a handful of plumber’s putty alternatives that you can try out along the way.

Let us know about the very first plumber’s putty alternative that you want to grab and test out.

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