5 Basic Plumbing Skills You Can Learn At Home

Don’t want to call the plumber for every little plumbing issue you get? Then it’s time you learned some basic plumbing skills at home.

Since plumbing issues are common in most residences in Australia, learning a few basic plumbing skills is always a good idea. It can help prevent recurring issues and save you a ton of bucks that you would have otherwise spent on hiring a plumber. But what are the skills that you should learn?

That is what we are going to discuss in this article today, so make sure you read it to the end. Now, without further ado, let’s jump right in.

5 Basic Plumbing Skills You Can Learn At Home

Here is a list of some of the basic plumbing skills that you can learn at home:

1. Repairing A Runny Toilet

First and foremost, you need to learn how to repair a runny toilet as it is one of the most common plumbing issues. It usually happens for two main reasons: either there is a problem with the plastic float or the flushing mechanism. Depending on the issue, buy a repair kit from your local hardware store and fix it yourself.

We would also recommend watching a few videos online to better understand what you are dealing with.

2. Disassembling A Pipe

Even though disassembling a pipe is the job of a burst pipe plumber, having this skill can help you in many difficult situations. For instance, if you drop a piece of jewellery or anything precious down the sink, you will be able to get it out easily. However, if you choose to wait until the plumber arrives, chances are your item will most likely get flushed down further.

Learning to disassemble a pipe can also prove useful in instances of burst pipes. Long story short, knowing how to disassemble and assemble pipes will allow you to come up with a permanent or temporary solution for many plumbing problems.

3. Understanding Leaks

It does not matter how hard you try to keep your pipes maintained; they are bound to leak at some point. There are many causes of pipe leaks, such as degradation due to old age, broken seals, high water pressure and many others. Nevertheless, you should be able to fix it yourself as leaks are common and can happen repeatedly.

Note that all leaks cannot be repaired with tightening. Also, wrapping them with duct tape might not be the best idea in every scenario. What you would want to do is, understand what is causing the leak first. The quicker you can find the culprit, the easier it will get for you to come up with the appropriate solution.

On that note, keep in mind that a minor issue could easily turn into a drastic one if not dealt with the right fix at the right time. Working with a plumber who is experienced with leak detection Ipswich wide, can save you time and money in the long run.

If you have a loose pipe, make sure you know how to tighten it. For cracks, fill the cracked portion with appropriate plumbing paste. Finally, if your plumbing pipe is leaking due to degeneration and mold, switch off the valve and get it replaced.

4. Learning How To Unclog

Perhaps, the most common and recurring plumbing issue that you will encounter is clogs or blockages, which can be in the toilet, shower drain or sink. Depending on the location of the clog, you can apply different techniques.

First, let us talk about blocked drains, which are hands down the most frustrating to deal with as they are nearly impossible to clean or unblock on your own. In this scenario, you must always call an Ipswich plumber and let them deal with it as they’re experienced in handling blocked drains Ipswich wide. However, if it is a minor clog in the toilet, you can unclog it using a plunger.

If it is your shower drain that is clogged, chances are it is because of hair. So, in this case, you will need to open the drain and remove all the hair and dirt manually using a hook.

5. Knowing The Location Of Valves And Stop Taps

Knowing the location of valves and stop taps is not a plumbing skill per se but a fundamental knowledge that every Australian homeowner should have. Unfortunately, many homeowners often tend to overlook this, which is why most of them start panicking when they encounter the smallest plumbing issues.

Turning the stop tap is perhaps the easiest fix for a minor leak or a pipe burst.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

In this part, we have answered a few commonly asked questions to help clear your doubts and queries.

Q1. Can I fix hot water issues on my own?

As far as hot water issues are concerned, unfortunately, they are a bit complicated and need to be dealt with by professionals who can perform hot water system repairs Ipswich wide. There have been a lot of accidents all over Australia when unskilled homeowners tried to fix their water heaters on their own. So, we strongly recommend calling your local plumber if your heater starts malfunctioning.

Q2. How do I prevent drain clogs and blockages?

To prevent your drain from clogging down the road, you need to do the following things:

• Keep grease, coffee grounds and food out of kitchen drains
• Unwanted objects such as nappies, tampons and sanitary pads are not to be flushed down the toilet drain
• Consider using a drain catcher for your shower drain

Final Thoughts

There you have it; those are the five basic plumbing skills that you can learn at home. And we genuinely hope that you will be able to fix the minor plumbing issue by yourself. However, make sure that you contact your local plumbing service company to resolve severe issues as they have the required tools, technology, and most importantly, the experience to resolve them.

With that last bit of advice, it is time for us to say goodbye. Until next time, take care!

Dan Parker

Dan Parker is the Director of Parker Plumbing and has over 16+ years of experience in the plumbing industry. His commitment to providing exceptional customer service means that he has seen it all – anything to do with residential or commercial plumbing, he knows what to do. Passionate about helping people in his community, Dan strives to offer honest and reliable plumbing services in the Brisbane and Ipswich areas.