DIY : For Plumbing, These Tools Are Essential

Why spend more money than you have to on simple home maintenance tasks? DIY home plumbing is a breeze and with our list of top plumbing tools, you’ll be able to carry out your own plumbing maintenance jobs, saving plenty of money in the process. First of all, get yourself a plunger. You’ll probably already have a cup plunger in your home – that’s the one you use to unblock sinks and tubs. It’s great for that, but it’s not so neat at unblocking toilet bowls – you’ll need a flange plunger for that. The flange plunger forms a seal around the bottom of your toilet bowl, giving you a far more effective plunging action.

If you have even a passing interest in DIY home plumbing you will be familiar with the adjustable pipe wrench. That’s the one which locks on to everything without mercy and is the beast of the DIY home plumbing world. You can manipulate tricky piping and undo rusted nuts with ease using the adjustable pipe wrench. However, if you’re carrying out finer work or working on visible trim or piping, you may want to opt for the slightly more delicate and refined adjustable crescent wrench.

I know, I know. It’s tempting to use the adjustable pipe wrench to savagely rip copper pipework apart whilst making Tarzan-like roaring noises. However, it’s probably advisable to use a specialized tubing cutter. The tubing cutter gives you smoothly and squarely cut ends – unlike the adjustable pipe wrench – allowing well fitted joints and neat handiwork. Copper piping is soft, so it needs to be cut with care. This tool allows you to do just that, slicing the pipe with increasing pressure to ensure you don’t bend or twist the pipe in the process.

Sometimes a plunger just won’t clear the blockage. In those instances, you’ll need to use an auger. Again, there are two types of auger. Don’t use a sink and tub auger on a toilet, and don’t use a toilet auger on a sink or tub. The auger’s extendable wire works its way through the piping as you turn the handle on the drum, manipulating the auger bit to clear the blockage.

So, you’ve undone the nuts and cut the pipe. Now you need to ensure your new joins don’t leak or come under undue pressure. For that, you’ll need Teflon tape. Also known as PTFE, Teflon tape helps seal joins and weak points in piping, minimizing leaks and spillages. It’s cheap to buy, so no DIY home plumber should be without it. Now you’ve got the tools of the trade, you’re ready to go!

Learn More : Steel Tube