A traditional plumbing technique used to join lead pipes or connect lead to brass fittings. The plumber pours molten solder over the joint and uses a greased cloth pad, called a wiping cloth, to catch and mold the cooling solder into a thick, bulbous seal before it hardens. It requires immense skill to maintain the solder at the exact plastic temperature where it can be shaped without melting a hole through the lead pipe.
Heard on the job
My grandfather used to wipe lead joints with a moleskin pad and a pot of fifty-fifty solder.
Insider tip
Wiped joints are a lost art in daily plumbing, but you will still find them in older buildings where historic lead waste lines have not yet been replaced.
Also heard as
- wiping a joint