DIY Home Plumbing Tips

Hiring the services of a Plumbing Engineering is usually the easiest way to fix a leaking tap or a broken pipeline. Plumbers usually keep the right tools and accessories handy to accomplish what may appear to be an uphill task for some of us. But learning the little tricks to give your pipelines and faucets a professional repair is not difficult either. With a little experience and guidance, virtually anyone can do a professional job. But the prerequisite to do it professionally, you will need to have the right kind of tools.

Here is a list of tools that you must have before you begin your work in earnest.

  1. A tongue and groove plier is a very important tool that most professional plumbers keep with them. Chances are that you may not even know what they are, because they are most often known by their brand names. You will find them useful when you have to twist wires and loosen something to repair pipelines. The two common sizes are 10 and 12 inch.
  2. Hacksaw is another tool that is inevitable in plumbing jobs. Most often, cutting a bit of pipe and making joints is inevitable for which you will find them very useful. When you buy a hacksaw see to it that you buy some extra blades. Hacksaw blades can break easily if you don’t run them straight. A slight bend is all that it takes for the blade to break.
  3. Metal files are just as important as any other tool, and without them you will not be able to match pipes or insert them appropriately into one another, especially when you have to use them in joints. The two common files are round and flat. You can also have a full round file of a small diameter as an additional tool.
  4. Basin wrench is the most important tool in any plumber tool kit. They will let you loosen up pipes or tighten up leaking faucets. Another variant of the wrench is pipe wrench which you can sometimes use in place of a basin wrench. But don’t forget basin wrench is a necessity, unless you have a pipe wrench that can substitute for the basin as well.
  5. Hand Augur is a must if you are going to deal with choked drains. The usual length is 25 feet and sometimes longer. The use of Hand Augur can never be underestimated. This will let you reach the choke with ease and pull out sludge easily.
  6. Plungers are inevitable when you have to clean choked pipes, especially faucets. In fact if you have access to plungers, you may not have the need to do much by way of opening pipes and refitting them. In fact, using the plunger once in a while will ensure that your pipelines don’t choke at all.

The other little tools you may want for plumbing are something that most households have anyway. A comprehensive list is unnecessary.

Here are three common repairs that you may be required to carry out time and again. Do not be overwhelmed even before you have tried your hands at it. A little experience is all that it takes to become a veteran in no time.

Repairing Air Locks in Taps

Air lock is one of the commonest complaints that you will have to tackle at home and is also the simplest to rectify. To set right an air lock, first cut a piece of plastic hose that will fit neatly into the mouth of the tap. Fix the other end to a tap that works normally and let water flow to the affected tap. Unless there is mechanical block your affected tap should be up and running.

Fixing Leaking Taps

Leaking taps are very common especially if you haven’t replaced them for over a couple of years. The most common reason why taps leak is that the glands and washers have worn off. Before you start working on setting the tap right ensure that the supply from the main pipe has been closed completely. Using the wrench loosen up the nut that holds the wheel. Replace the washer, glands normally have a longer life and don’t need replacement. Put the wheel back and tighten the nut on the top. The position of the wheel and nut can be different depending upon the type of tap you are using.

Dealing with a Choked faucet

Unless the pipe that drains your faucet is severely blocked you may not have to open the joints below. To relieve the choke, pour some hot water into the faucet and pump the plunger about a dozen times. If the block isn’t a big one it should clear in no time. However, if this does not work, use the Hand Augur. Insert one end into the outlet and give a rotational movement at the other end. Alternatively, you can insert the Augur at the outlet and repeat. When you pull out the augur, the block too would come out.

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