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Step 5Bubble Test for Leaks
Put some water in the sink, or a bucket. A river or lake would be fine also.
If your sink has no plug stuff a plastic bag in the drain.
Submerge the inflated tube. Look, listen, and feel for air escaping.
Don't stop checking the tube after finding one leak. There may be others. If you find a few holes near each other, there's probably a thorn or nail still embedded in the tire.
If there's a small slit near the rim, you probably just did that by prying too hard with a screwdriver while getting the tire off.
Check the valve stem. They get leaks also.
Dry off the tube and draw a circle around the leak.
Make the circle a bit larger than the patch you'll use. Now you won't lose the leak. I've patched tubes many times to find that the patch wasn't over the hole.
If your sink has no plug stuff a plastic bag in the drain.
Submerge the inflated tube. Look, listen, and feel for air escaping.
Don't stop checking the tube after finding one leak. There may be others. If you find a few holes near each other, there's probably a thorn or nail still embedded in the tire.
If there's a small slit near the rim, you probably just did that by prying too hard with a screwdriver while getting the tire off.
Check the valve stem. They get leaks also.
Dry off the tube and draw a circle around the leak.
Make the circle a bit larger than the patch you'll use. Now you won't lose the leak. I've patched tubes many times to find that the patch wasn't over the hole.
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